


Kitsune Woes

by LilCrouton



Series: Kitsune Woes [1]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Mac is a Kitsune, Not Beta Read, Other, Some Whump, Stilinski Twins, bad childhood, making it up as I go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2018-10-18 08:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 62,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10613148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilCrouton/pseuds/LilCrouton
Summary: Say what you will about MacGyver, but you cannot deny that he's very hard to catch, and even harder to keep. He's a very clever and wily man. Perhaps, one could even call him 'foxy'. Whatever you choose to call him, the whole gang, along with an OC find themselves going to a little town called Beacon Hills. What could go wrong? I own nothing. Also posted on Fanfiction.net.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: In this story Krystiana Stilinski (an OC obviously) has been with Mac and Jack since around the same time as Nikki. We’ll go over her backstory eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this story Krystiana Stilinski (an OC obviously) has been with Mac and Jack since around the same time as Nikki. We'll go over her backstory eventually.

I dive behind the filing cabinet, bullets whizzing overhead.  
“Mac, have you worked out a way to get out of here with that big brain of yours?!” Jack’s voice crackles to life in my ear as he yells into his comm.  
“Uh, just gimme a sec here!” Mack shouts back. I duck as a bullet punches through the metal inches from my ear.  
“Mac, we might not have a second!” I growl into my comm.  
“When I say run, run.” Mac commands. “Kay, toss me those bottles lying next to you please.”’  
“Mac, we’re being shot at, you don’t need your ‘please’s and ‘thank you’s!” I tell him, tossing the said bottles to land right in front of him. As an afterthought, I pocket the last one just in case. When MacGyver is involved, having spare bottles is always handy.  
“Well, you know me, always the gentleman.” He grins back.  
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast. They’ve got reinforcements coming in.” Riley’s voice interrupts. Mac, Jack, and I all pause to give each other an exasperated look. I bite back a low growl.  
“Ready?” Mac asks, making eye contact with Jack and myself. I nod, and Mac rolls one of his bottles to me.  
“Brother, Riley just told us that their buddies are on the way, I think Krysti and I are more than ready.” Jack yells.  
“Guys, I love friendly banter as much as the next girl, but can we get a move on? I think – ARGH!” I’m interrupted as another bullet breaks through the filing cabinet and buries itself into my shoulder.  
“KAY!” Mac yells.  
“FINE, I’m fine! Let’s get out of here!” I yell back, pushing the pain to the back of my mind.  
“On three, toss the bottle. One, two, THREE! RUN!” I toss the bottle, hitting the closest man in the chest. The bottle explodes, throwing the man back and releasing a thick smokescreen. I jump to my feet, ignoring the sharp jolt of pain that shoots through my shoulder. I sprint after my two comrades, out the door of the large room and into the twist and the turns of the corridors. Instinctively, I cast my eyes ahead of us, my ears straining for any sign of pursuit from behind. Almost immediately, I shake my head. _Jack’s got our front covered, I need to focus on our rear._ I knock as much as I can onto the floor, to buy us as much time as possible. Any boxes, tables, chairs, or decoration we pass gets shoved onto the ground in hopes of tripping anyone who wants to chase us. I hear the door open behind us just as we turn the corner, the men coughing and gasping.  
“They’re just came through the door, Jack.” I call up quietly. I watch as he keeps his eyes in front, giving a quick nod, which is all the acknowledgment I need. I reach down to my leg holster and pull out a pair of throwing knives, once again focusing my senses behind us, on our pursuers.  
“This was supposed to be a simple infiltration! Sneak in, grab the files, and sneak out. What went wrong this time?!” Jack asks.  
“The door to the room had an alarm that you tripped as soon as you walked through.” Riley informs over the radio.  
“I told you we should’ve come in through the window!” I growl up to him.  
“Well, Mac and I aren’t part monkey, we weren’t about to climb the outside of a building three floors to get to the window!” Jack complains.  
“Which is why I offered to go up alone.” I grumble.  
“Yeah, well, we stick together, amigo.” Jack replies. I roll my eyes. I hear the soldiers behind us round the corner. I twist around, flinging the knives with deadly accuracy, hitting the two leading soldiers, one with a knife in the knee, the other through the eye. The first drops with a grunt, the latter screams in pain as he claws at his eye in pain.  
“Can we go any faster?” I ask. Jack and Mac sprint even faster in front of me. Bullets start to ring out from the soldiers behind us, riddling the walls of the hallway. _Thank god for bad aim._ Jack makes a sharp turn down another hallway, I make it around the corner just as a bullet comes perilously close to hitting me.  
“Riley, you got the schematics for this place?” Jack yells through his comm.  
“Take your next right.” I tell him.  
“I’m working on it.” Riley says at the same time.  
“On your left should be the stairs.” I say as we make the turn. Jack quickly throws the door to the stairwell open, and we rush in. Jack rushes down the stairs, but I can hear footsteps coming from below us. I grab another pair of knives, ignoring the pain lancing up my shoulder. I vault over the railing, angling my fall so I land right where the opposing soldiers are. There are six soldiers. I kick one of the in the temple as I land, knocking him out and immediately lash out at the leg in front of me as I crouch to the ground, absorbing my fall. I spring up, throwing my knives to take care of two others, before lunging at a third. Two sharp gunshots ring through the stairwell, and the final soldier slumps to the ground.  
“Nice.” Jack nods with a grin.  
“It helps to be part monkey.” I glare. “Let’s get out of here.” He nods, and we leave the groaning mess of soldiers behind us. Now I’m in the lead, and I rush down to the first floor.  
I throw the door open, continuing our sprint into the hall.  
“Watch it, the reinforcements are here, and they’re right in front of you!” Riley calls out through the mike. As soon as she says that, a mob of soldiers turn the corner. The three of us slide to a stop, before immediately turning around and retreating around another corner.  
“Next left!” I call out. “Then the second right. There’ll be a window that leads straight to the car!” Jack follows my directions, and the window is right across the hallway.  
Jack smashes through a window, and Mac and I jump through after him. Jack is already in the car as Mac’s opening the back door and getting in. I dive in after him, and as soon as I’m in the car, Jack floors it. I slam the door shut, and hold on for dear life. Mac shoots me a grin as we duck from the hail of bullets that smash through the back window of the car. I smile back, only to wince as a particularly rough bump jostles my shoulder.  
“Kay!” He yells again.  
“Krysti, you good, girl? Talk to me!” Jack calls over his shoulder, keeping his eyes peeled on the road.  
“I’m fine. It didn’t go deep, the filing cabinet slowed the bullet down a lot. It’s just a flesh wound.” I pull my jacket off, bunching it up against the wound on my shoulder.  
“Hey, as much as I care about you, Krysti; Mac, can you do anything about the cars tailing us?!” Jack calls out.  
“Uh,” Mac’s eyes wander around the interior of the car, taking inventory of everything available. He scowls. “I should have grabbed-“ He stops as I wave the bottle in front of his nose. I smirk at him, and he gives me a grin back. I sit back and watch Mac rush around, grabbing different things around the car, mixing and cutting things up.  
“You sure you’re all good, Krysti?” Jack asks.  
“Pu-lease. Unlike you two idiots, I know not to lie about injuries. I know that knowing about injuries is an important aspect of completing a mission the best of our abilities, so I’m not about to lie about the severity like the two of you would. The gunshot wound is nothing major, I’ll be fine.” My little speech to Jack is brought to an end as Mac leans out the window with his bottle contraption.  
“Can you-” Jack starts.  
“Yeah, I got it.” I interrupt, grabbing onto Mac’s belt with my good hand. I give a small chuckle as I recall the event that led Jack and me always making sure someone holds Mac whenever he leans out the window. It was terrifying to watch Mac tumble out of the car, just before barely managing to avoid becoming roadkill, but it would eventually become one of the events we could laugh about. Even though it’s funny in hindsight, that night while we were laying low in a hotel room, tending to a MacGyver covered in road rash with a nasty bump on his head, Jack and I silently promised to never let there be a repeat of that event.  
I watch silently as Mac throws his super concoction at our pursuers. A resounding explosion follows as the lead car is flipped on its side and the following cars are back into the van as we continue on our way to the exfil.  
“WOOO-HOO!” Jack cheer, and the three of us laugh as we zoom further and further away from the car behind us. Mac and I high-five, with my good arm of course, and from there, its smooth sailing.


	2. Chapter 2

“Dude! You guys are CRAZY!” I wince as Bozer yells seemingly right in my ear. After getting back, a quick trip to the infirmary (as insisted by Jack), and a not quite as quick debriefing we all decided to go over to Mac and Bozer’s house to decompress. We sat on the porch around the fire pit sipping beers. Well, Mac, Riley, Bozer, and Jack were sipping beers. I was sipping a root beer. I risk my life almost every other day for this country with a secret organization that most people don’t even know about, doing things even the top military men and women would run screaming from, and I don’t even get to try a sip of beer because I’m only 17. That’s life for ya. I sit back and watch Bozer flirting with Riley, who just ignores him with a roll of the eyes. Mac, though to most people he would seem cool as a cucumber, is bursting with energy, calming down from the mission by fiddling with a paperclip. Jack is lazing around, letting his hypervigilance from the mission melt away. I bury a stab of guilt as I think about our missing partner, Nikki. When she betrayed us, it almost broke us all. But knowing that she didn’t betray us didn’t help, because that came along with the biggest backstab: Patricia Thornton. Our old boss turned out to be working against us, and Nikki went undercover and ended up exposing her. Looking at my friends, I can see the remnants of pain from Thornton’s betrayal. I’m brought out of my thoughts by our new boss joining us on the porch. Matty seems like a good person, but I’m reluctant to trust her. Honestly, I’m surprised that the others are so quick to trust so soon after being burnt, but there’s no reason to doubt Matty. Considering that Jack apparently has an extensive past with her should be enough for me to trust her, but it took me a long time to trust Thornton, and we see how that turned out. Matty shoots me a reassuring smile. During my performance review Matty addressed my trust issue, and to sum it up; she said ‘at least one of this team of covert ops is skeptical.’ I translated that to: ‘I don’t mind if it takes a while for you to warm up to me, go ahead and take your time trusting me.’  
“How’s the shoulder Stilinski?” Matty asks. I grimace at the use of my last name.  
“Please, either Kay or Krysti. The shoulder’s fine, just a flesh wound. It didn’t even need stitches or anything.”   
“Well, that’s good to hear, are you up for another mission?” Matty says, tilting her head slightly. I stare at her, trying to decide whether it was a joke or not.  
“Matty, we just got back from one, can’t we get a break? Or was that a joke.” Jack grumbles. I give a sigh of relief at the fact that I am not the only one who’s having a hard time differentiating Matty’s serious side and her joking side.  
“No, Jack. It wasn’t a joke.” Matty turns back to me. “So, do you think you’re up to it Kay?” I move my shoulder, testing it. There’s pain, but I have a high tolerance for pain.  
“Heck yeah.” I say with a nod. Mac puts his beer down and sits up. Jack stands up, crossing his arms.   
“Well, if the kids are up to it, then I’m in.”   
“Careful grandpa, wouldn’t want you to throw out your hip or anything.” Riley throws back.   
“Well, I’m good for another go.” Mac says fiddling some more with a paperclip.  
“What was that, blondie?” Matty retorts. I scowl a bit at that. Contrary to what Matty believes, Mac actually pays more attention to what he’s hearing when his hands are doing something. Mac drops the paper clip and stands up.  
“I’m fit for another mission.” He says simply.   
“What about you two?” Matty turns to Riley and Bozer. Bozer tenses up.  
“Hey, I’m always ready for a bit of excitement.” Riley shrugs.   
“Um, am I completely necessary for this mission? Because if I am, I’ll go, but if you just want me there as extra manpower I’m sure there are people better suited for the job.” Bozer said nervously. After the Netherlands, I don’t blame him for being nervous about another field op.   
“Just giving you a chance, Bozer. There’s no need for you to go.” Matty tells him softly. “Meet me in the war room in ten minutes for a briefing.”

I sat in the soft armchair in the war room, fascinated as Mac’s fingers seemed to dance with the paperclip, creating smooth bends in an intricate spiraling design. I’m eager to see what he’ll come up with. My head snaps up as Matty walks in the room activating the screens on the wall.  
“Your next mission will be to bring down a small group of potential terrorists in a small town in California. This group of people have destroyed multiple buildings, but remain anonymous. They have a habit of either using wild animals, or making the scene look like it was caused by animals.” Matty glares at Mac until he puts the paperclips down.   
“Uh, why can’t the local police, or the FBI deal with this?” Mac says, brows furrowed.  
“They’ve tried. They came up empty handed.”  
“Then what about animal control? Are we sure this group is making it look like animals have gone mad, or could there be like an outbreak of rabies or something?”  
“Well, Jack, unless having the rabies has suddenly allowed wolves to learn how to use crossbows and explosives, I don’t think that rabies are to blame.” Matty says with a falsely sweet tone.  
“Uh, where exactly in California are we talking about?” I ask, hoping to break up the staring contest Jack and Matty have gotten themselves into.   
“A small town called Beacon Hills.” A jolt of surprise runs through me, but my training takes over, and I don’t let any reaction show. Mac, on the other hand, has no such training. I note that his eyes widen ever so slightly at the name of the town and he straightens up. Putting his finished paperclip art on the table he stands up.  
“Surely it’s just some rowdy teenagers making some trouble, right? I mean, it’s a small, quiet town, not crime central.”  
“Again, I point out that ‘rowdy teenagers’ don’t typically use explosives and crossbows. Or tame wolves.” I catch Jack staring pointedly at MacGyver.  
“Mac, is something wrong? You’ve never tried this hard to point out the flaws in a mission before.”  
“I would have thought it would be Kay over there protesting going to Beacon Hills.” Matty says offhandedly. I scowl at her. Mac shoots a wide-eyed glance at me. A theory starts forming in my head about why Mac might be reacting so strongly to Beacon Hills, but I push it to the back of my mind for after the briefing.  
“Uh, why is that exactly?” Riley pitches in. Mac jumps, apparently having forgotten all about Riley. I hesitate for a second.  
“The current sheriff of Beacon Hills is Sheriff John Stilinski.” I pause to take in the shocked looks of my team mates. “My father.


	3. Chapter 3

“Whoa, slow down a minute.” Jack says, making the time-out gesture. “I thought –” Jack stops himself shooting a glance at Riley. “Uh, should we send her out of the room?”   
“Excuse me?!” Riley asks indignantly.  
“Nah, I trust her. Besides she’d either find out during the mission or hack my files after, and find out.” I say, walking to the glass walls and tapping the panel to frost them all over. I take a deep breath. “God, where do I even start?” I think aloud. I’m saved by Mac. I feel relief wash over me.  
“On our first mission,” Mac points at himself and Jack, “along with Nikki, we took down a crime syndicate that were kidnapping infants and raising them as soldiers and assassins.” Riley’s eyes widen as she no doubt puts the basic pieces together already.  
“Since you can obviously see where this is going, I’m just going to say it. As an infant, I was kidnapped from the hospital. I’m one of Sheriff Stilinski’s biological children, the other being my twin brother. Why the Goblin King didn’t re-name any of the children he kidnapped and attempted to brainwash, I don’t know. And yes, I do see the parallels of the dude kidnapping infants and the old fairytales of the goblin king abducting children, by the way. Anyway, I was trained as an assassin, and ended up helping Jack, Nikki, and Mac to free and return many of the kids. After that, Thornton made me an offer to join the team and I did. And that’s how a, at the time, fifteen-year-old joined a top-secret government agency.”  
“And, damn, you should see her in a fight. Man, I’m ex delta and I’m afraid of her sometimes.” Jack says, shaking his head.  
“Every once and a while I travel over to Beacon Hills, just to check on the Stilinski’s, but I’ve never, you know, introduced myself.” I admit to them. Mac looks shocked, and Jack raises an eyebrow. “Well, what am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, remember when your currently dead wife had twins, but one of them died during the process? That’s me! I’m the daughter you thought was dead but was actually trained as one of the world’s most effective assassins.’ Look, Beacon Hills has seen some weird shit, but I don’t think they’re ready for that.” Granted, no one seems to stay dead in Beacon Hills, so they might actually be.   
“Wow. I thought I had it hard, having gone to prison at the ripe old age of twenty-one.” Riley replied, taken aback.   
“Look, heart-wrenching backstory aside, do you really think that going to Beacon Hills is a good idea?” I ask Matty. How hard should I try to convince her not to follow through with the mission. Would she consider supernatural creatures a threat to the nation? Would she leave it out of the reports if I ask her to? After all, these ‘terrorist attacks’ are undoubtedly supernatural. Speaking of supernatural… I glance at MacGyver. He seems nervous at the prospect of going to Beacon Hills, and that just about confirms my theory. MacGyver is some sort of mythical creature. Now I want to figure out what. I already have an idea, but I want to see if he’d appreciate a confrontation, rather than detective work.   
“Yes, I’m sure.” Matty interrupted my train of thoughts. I have to retrace my thoughts back to the last thing I said, before realizing she’s talking about continuing the mission.  
“Okay then.” I shrug. I doubt there’s any way that I’d be able to convince her to call it off, so I stop trying. Mac, doesn’t seem to accept the inevitability of this mission though.  
“Look, Matty, I don’t think we need to get involved in this. What are we supposed to do about wild, savage animals?”   
“Well, blondie, are you giving up on your strategy of improvisation?” Matty rebuts, cocking her head to the side. I can practically hear Mac grit his teeth from across the room.  
“No.” Ooh, a single word response from Mac things must be bad.  
“Well, wheels up in thirty. Get out of here.” We walk out of the room, and I see Jack walking towards Mac to no doubt confront him about what just went on. Instead, I grab Mac’s arm and steer him in the exact opposite of the armory, so that Jack has no good excuse to follow, and away from the lab, no doubt where Riley is heading. We stop in an empty hallway, and I can practically see Mac running through all the believable excuses he can think of.  
“Look, it’s just that I’ve got some friends in Beacon Hills and they’d tell me if things-“ I interrupt Mac before he gets too far.  
“So, what are you?” I say bluntly.  
“What?” He asks, putting on a rather convincing bewildered look.  
“I’m no wolf, but as an assassin, I’ve learned to spot lies from a mile away. You’re clever, good at getting away but not through brawn. I’m guessing Kitsune? It wouldn’t surprise me if you could actually run a lot faster that you’ve let on. Also, I’m guessing you’re pretty young, relatively speaking at least, but if you are, how do hide it from the cameras?” He’s got a deer in the headlights look on his face.   
“Wha- How. You know?” He stammers.  
“Wow, I’ve made you speechless. That’s a first. Of course I know. I told you, I go check on the fam in Beacon Hills every once in a while. I’m not a hunter if that’s what you’re worried about. Even if I were, I think you’ve proven a hundred times over you’re no threat to humanity. But, we’ve got to work together with this one.”  
“Just, gimme a sec to process everything that just happened please.” He held up a hand.   
“You’re, uh, you’re lookin’ a bit pale there, Mac. Do you need to take a seat?” He shakes his head at my question.  
“No, no. I’ll be fine. Just surprised you know about, well about everything. Okay, I’m good, continue.”  
“Well, we need to decide how we’re going to handle this mission. I think it’s inevitable that if we’re going to do a mission in Beacon Hills, our team is going to find out about the supernatural world. And, let’s face it. There’s no way we’re getting out of this mission.”  
“Hold up. What are you then? I mean if you’re not a hunter, you’ve got to be something. But I can’t for the life of me figure that out!”   
“Dude, Mac, were you even listening to a word I said?” I scowl.  
“Yeah, how are we going to prevent Jack, Matty, and Riley from finding the supernatural. But what are YOU?” He asks, waving his hands around, exasperated.  
“I’m just a human.” I give him my best ‘seriously?’ look.  
“But how-“ I cut him off.  
“Look we can go over the whole, yes, I’m just a human, not a witch, druid, hunter, or anything debate later, but right now we need to figure out what to do about the team! I don’t think we’ll be able to prevent them from discovering the supernatural if we’re heading to Beacon Hills, so I think we need to get a head start on damage control. We should break it to them now, and show them the proof later.” I blurt out. He gives me a look that vaguely translates to ‘are you brain-dead?’.  
“And have them lock us up in an asylum? I don’t think so.”  
“Well, what’s the alternative?! With our affinity to attract trouble, mixed with Beacon Hill’s ability to attract were-creatures, something bad is going to happen. Would you rather tell them now, and them think we suffered a concussion, or have them walk into Beacon Hills blind and get mauled by were-wolves?!” I growl at him. He hesitates.  
“Well, I won’t stop you if you want to tell them, but don’t look to me for help explaining this time. I already helped you explain the whole ‘Stilinski’ thing.’” He turns around and walks off. Did he plan that out? He’s foxier that he lets on.

Too soon the whole team is on the plane, getting our final instructions from Matty. Mac shoots me a look that says ‘good luck’.   
“And last of all, Kay, we need to discuss your cover.” Well, here it’s now or never. “You’ll be Danielle-“  
“Actually, that’s not necessary.” I say simply, cutting her off. Matty raises an eyebrow at me.   
“Oh, do you already have an alias ready for this scenario?” It’s not unreasonable for her to think that, considering it’s happened before.  
“Uh, kinda.” I fight the urge to look to Mac for help. He made it clear that there wasn’t going to be any help from him. “I figured Krystiana Stilinski would work for this job.”  
“Wait, just thirty minutes ago you were saying that it would be bad to tell them that their dead daughter isn’t quite as dead as they thought.” Riley snarks.  
“Well, it’s Beacon Hills, they’re used to people coming back from the dead.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Are we speaking in some sort of code I haven’t been updated on, because you just said that- “  
“Jack I think we all heard what I just said. And no, it’s no special code. Now, bear with me, this is going to sound crazy, but I swear it’s true.” I warn them.  
“Well, sister, you’re already sounding crazy, so just go ahead.” Jack waved me on skeptically.  
“Beacon Hills, got its name because it houses the last Nemeton, an ancient tree imbued with magic. It draws basically every supernatural creature anywhere remotely close to it in. Last I checked, the Hale pack were keeping the peace there, guarding their territory from any unwanted visitors, hence all the ruins where it looks like anthropomorphic wolves have been fighting. They were one of the most respected packs of were-wolves.”  
“Uh, did the doc test you for a concussion?” Jack blurts out.  
“Krysti, it isn’t like you to joke about a mission.” Matty tuts, disapprovingly.   
“It isn’t a new terrorist group using animals, it’s mostly territorial wars involving people who are half animal.” I say shrugging. “Please, you don’t have to believe me, but can you at least have an open mind? I’d never joke about something this serious.”  
“Kay, if you really didn’t want to come you could have just said so, you didn’t have to try to convince me you have a concussion.” Matty said softly.  
“She’s right.” Mac pipes in. I swear if he is agreeing with Matty, someone’s going to need to break out the stain remover because I am going to smash his face.  
“Uh, what?” Riley asks, shocked.  
“Yeah, I’m with Mac and Matty. If you weren’t feeling up to this mission, we wouldn’t have judged you for backing out.” I raise an eyebrow at Mac.  
“No, I wasn’t agreeing with Matty.” Mac relents.  
“Woah now, hold up. You’re saying that supernatural creatures are real, and no one but you two know about them?” Jack asks, eyeing us skeptically.  
“No.” He lets out a sigh of relief. “There are racist bigots out there that call themselves hunters who have decided that every supernatural creature is out to destroy the world.” I say. “Granted, it would be a bit hypocritical of me to say that without clarifying that there are some hunters out there who don’t hunt all supernatural creatures, just the ones that are malevolent.” I add.  
“Okay, I think we need to turn this plane around and get the two of you to a doctor or something.” Riley says, getting up to talk to the pilot. I hear Mac sigh.   
“I have proof, if you’re willing to listen to us for a few more moments.” Riley freezes at Mac’s words.   
“And what is that? A hand drawn picture of a half man, half wolf creature howling at the moon?” Jack snorts.  
“A bit more substantial than that.” My eyes brighten as I realize what Mac’s talking about.  
“Riley, your phone has a camera, right?” I ask, even though I know the answer.  
“Yeah, of course it does.” She answers.  
“Will you get it out and take a picture of me please.” Mac says.  
“Brother, I’ve seen you in plenty of pictures, what difference is it going to make if it’s on Riley’s phone?” Jack rolls his eyes.  
“Well, this time I won’t be hiding.” Mac retorts as Riley complies. Riley’s eyes bug out, and she opens and closes her mouth like a fish. It would have been comical if I wasn’t so relieved.   
“Oh, I get it. You all are working together to prank ‘Grandpa Jack’, aren’t you.” Jack says with a chuckle. Wide eyed, Riley backed as far away from Mac as she could get. I frown, and barely catch the flicker of hurt on Mac’s face.  
“Well, if you don’t believe her, just take out your phone and see for yourself.” Mac says bitterly. I tune out Jack sassing Mac back, and focus on Riley, who is holding up her phone, as if trying to see what creature I turn into.  
“Riley, that’s still the same Mac as you know. Nothing about him has changed, accept you know a little more about who he is as a person, or rather fox. He is still the same MacGyver you know.” She seems to have calmed down a bit. I smiled at her and she gave a tentative smile back.   
“Holy mother of God. What the hell?!” I look up to see Jack dropping his phone, staring wide-eyed at Mac.  
“I know, I look like some sort of possessed demon.” Mac said bitterly.  
“You know in Japanese mythology Kitsune were often seen as guardians?” I pitch in.  
“WHAT IS GOING ON!?” Matty nearly yells over the phone.   
“Uh, I think you’re just going to have to take our word for this one Matty.” I say simply.  
“Mac’s possessed by some sort of fox demon!” Jack yelled pulling out his gun. Before I can even think about what I’m doing I’ve rushed towards Jack and I’ve grabbed the slide of his handgun, pushing it toward him and manipulating the slide lock with my thumb before pulling the slide off toward me and backing up next to MacGyver.   
“Okay, first off, not a fox demon, he’s more akin to a mini-god. Second he’s not possessed; Mac is a fox.”  
“Mini-god?” Mac raises an eyebrow at me.   
“You mean you’re a kitsune with,” I take a quick glance at Riley’s phone came to check how many tails Mac has; “two tails, and you’ve never decided to research what a kitsune is?” I ask.  
“Uh, no. It always seemed conceited and narcissistic to google myself.” Mac shrugged.   
“Well, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, kitsune grow stronger as they age and grow more tails. They are actually one of the most power creatures in Japanese mythology, short of the kami themselves. Kitsune were seen as the messenger of the kami. Kami means god by the way.”   
“Cool, so what super powers are you holding out on us, brother?” Jack says, playfully punching Mac on the arm.   
“Well, I’m kind of a dud when it comes to kitsune. I can barely manage to rub my tails together, the only thing I can do is run a bit faster than humans and heal a bit faster too.”  
“You have go to be kidding me, blondie.” Matty grumbles over the connection.   
“But hey, at least that solves one mystery.” I blurt out.  
“And what is that?” Jack asks.  
“We know why Mac is so good at improvising his way out of a problem. Kitsune are most known for their trickery, though they have immense powers, they rely more on their brains than their brawn to get out of a sticky situation. That’s probably what makes kitsune the most dangerous opponent.” I answer smiling.   
“We’ll be landing in about five minutes.” The pilot announced over the com.  
“So,” I announce, as happily as I can manage, “when we meet with the alpha of the pack, I’ll do most of the talking. Just, for now, consider me the alpha.” I see Jack shoot me a funny look. “Oh, I’m sorry! Have you ever experienced pack dynamics, or know how to properly ask for permission to enter a pack’s territory without getting torn to shreds?” I ask. “Don’t worry, we won’t doubt your masculinity just because you aren’t the alpha male.”

We get off the plane as a small airstrip, so we have to walk a bit to get to Beacon Hills. As we near the border of the Hale territory I turn to Mac. “Can you do a good wolf howl?” He glares at me but says nothing. “Geeze, look. I know foxes and wolves don’t usually get along, but come on, you don’t have to be a grumpy-fox.” I fish around in my bag for a moment before producing a dog whistle. “Not quite a wolf howl, but I think it’ll do in a pinch. I take a breath and am about to blow before a thought occurs. “Oh, Mac, you might want to cover your ears.” He does. I blow a long, (hopefully) loud whistle. “Now, we just wait for the pack to come meet us.  
It only takes about ten minutes before the pack arrives. I take in the ragtag group that came to meet us. Not that I can really judge though.   
“Is this the Hale pack?” I ask. A straggler comes out of the woods, and I recognize him: Derek Hale.  
“This is the McCall pack.” Derek answers simply. I nod, and address the teen that’s standing in front of the pack. “Alpha McCall, my pack and I would like permission to enter your territory. We are here to visit and we will graciously offer any assistance with territorial disputes that arise while we are here.” I hide my discomfort. There’s something odd about this boy. He’s an alpha, but he doesn’t look like someone who killed to get the position. That either means he inherited it, which is unlikely because an actual Hale is standing right there, or he’s a true alpha.   
“Oh, yeah. Cool. That’s fine. Awesome in fact.” McCall says, grinning like a puppy. I’m vaguely aware of Derek facepalming in the background, but I crack a smile.   
“You’re a true alpha, aren’t you?” I ask. His eyebrows shoot up, and his pack tenses. I hold my hands up in a placating fashion. “It’s just, you didn’t exactly follow tradition, but I’ve never really been one for tradition, so that’s fine. We’re not here to cause trouble.” The pack settles down.   
“We’ve had issues with people wanting to kill me because I’m, you know, a true alpha.” McCall said simply. I nod.   
“Well, this is Angus MacGyver, a kitsune. Call him Mac though. That’s Jack Dalton, and Riley Davis. They’re humans.” I say, pointing to the respective people.   
“And you? You’re not exactly anything special either.” Derek speaks up from the back.   
“Uh, yeah. You see, you guys might be able to help there. As I said, we’re here to visit, I’m actually looking for some family members. If you could help me find them that would be great. My name’s Krystiana Stilinski.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is in a universe where the Nogitsune was never called to earth, so Kira’s family still moves to Beacon Hills, and eventually Kira’s mom tells her what she is, but they don’t have to deal with a possessed Stiles, and Allison, and the twins are still alive.

“But call me- “I jump back as Derek uses his wolfy speed and strength and speed to try to claw my throat out. As he charges me again I perform a move similar to a back flip, planting my hands on the ground, and my feet on Derek’s chest, flipping him over me.   
“Hey, calm down. I told you we mean no harm.” By now Jack has his gun pulled on Derek, and the whole pack is wolfed out, ready to pounce. Mac is standing tensed next to me and Riley is clutching her laptop like it’s a safety line. I’m holding my hands out, showing them that I don’t have any weapons, but still keeping them in front of me in case they attack.   
“Kay, what was that about talking to the alpha without getting mauled?” Jack laughed.   
“Well, it wasn’t the alpha that tried to maul me.” I say, keeping my eyes on the pack.   
“What do you want with Stiles. Aside from his dad he doesn’t have any other family.” McCall growled at me. Well, at least I know that Sheriff Stilinski and, erm, ‘Stiles’ are part of the pack.  
“Look. I know this sounds crazy, but you can send one of your betas to go confirm this. When Sheriff Stilinski had children, he had twins, but one, the girl, died during the birthing process. At least that’s what the records say. In reality, I was taken by a man who called himself the Goblin King. We’ll wait here and we’ll put away our weapons.” I aim that last part at Jack, but I still don’t turn away from McCall’s pack.   
“Isaac, go get the sheriff and Stiles.” McCall nods at a tall beta with short, curly hair and a scarf. Isaac takes off into the woods towards the town.  
“Jack, put the gun away and let Derek up.” Jack complies, and Derek makes his way back to the pack, this time standing next to McCall.  
“Well, well, well. It seems that I was right when I said no one in this town stays dead.” Another form slinks out of the woods. That must be Peter Hale, the only other survivor of the Hale fire. But I thought he was comatose. Well, he obviously isn’t.  
“Well, to be fair, I wasn’t ever really dead.” I say. I take note that the pack has relaxed enough to put the fangs and claws away.   
“Why are you here?” Peter asks.  
“I told you, we are here to visit, and offer our help to maybe find a way to deal with the Nemeton.” I answer.  
“Well, forgive me if I don’t quite believe you.” Peter says, smiling back at me. I shrug in response.   
“I don’t care if you believe me, I think it’s the Alpha that I need to worry about.” I say, watching him tense, almost unnoticeably. Whoops, sore topic I guess.   
“Peter’s a creep, don’t mind him.” A tall wolf with shot, dark hair that sticks up on the top and pale eyes, speaks up.   
“So, obviously, you guys are a new pack, and I’m forgiving, but it’s usually proper etiquette to introduce your pack.” I say gently.  
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” McCall says, startled. “Uh, I’m Scott McCall, that’s Jackson Whittemore,” he points at the wolf that just pointed out Peter, “this is Derek Hale, that’s Peter Hale, and Isaac Lahey just went to get the sheriff and Stiles. We’re werewolves. This is Malia Tate,” a young girl with medium length, light brown hair, “this is Kira Yukimura, a kitsune” Mac tenses a bit behind me as Scott points to a young Asian girl with straight, long, black hair, “this is Allison Argent, a hunter, “I raise an eyebrow at the young hunter with curly, dark hair, “and this is Lydia Martin, a banshee.” Lydia has strawberry blond hair. “Oh, there’s also the twins, Ethan and Aiden. They’re also werewolves.” They must be new to the pack. Scott added them as an afterthought, so they’re barely part of the pack. We’re interrupted by a jeep pulling over to the edge of the road.   
“Wow, quite a unique pack you have there.” I say.  
“So, what do you need us for Scott?” A man says, opening the door of the jeep. He is wearing civilians, but I recognize Sheriff Stilinski, and he’s followed by Stiles. The Sheriff has short, light brown hair, and his face is just starting to show his age. Stiles has short brown hair, and whiskey brown eyes. He carries a familiar energy, always fidgeting and moving. He makes me think of how Mac is before and after missions.   
“Dude, you didn’t tell him?!” Scott hisses at Isaac.   
“You just told me to get him, not fill him in!” Isaac hisses back.  
“It was implied.” Scott mumbles. Derek groans.   
“Woah there, slow down. Now why don’t you tell me why you dragged me down here on my day off while I was trying to have a nice quiet day with my son.”  
“Yeah, who are these guys, by the way?” Stiles butts in.  
“Uh, well they’re…” Scott trails off, looking at me. I sigh.  
“Well, first off, you know how you had twins, but one of them, well, you know?” The Sheriff looks shocked and I watch as his hand creeps towards his gun.   
“How do you know about that?” His voice is guarded.   
“Wait a minute!” Stiles said turning towards his dad. “Dad, what the hell is she talking about?!” I notice that Stile’s arms have a tendency to flail as he talks.   
“Not now Stiles!” The sheriff shushes his son. “How do you know about that?” He glares at me.  
“Now hold on, don’t shush me, I think I have a right to question what the heck you’re talking about when some stranger starts talking about you having twins, when I have no siblings, and you don’t look at her like she belongs in the Eichen house!”  
“You mean she’s right?!” Scott asks.  
“Look, I’m just going to interrupt you there. My name is Krystiana Stilinski.” The Sheriff pulls out his gun and points it at me. Immediately Jack has his gun trained at the Sheriff.  
“Now, now, why don’t we all calm down a bit man, I don’t like it when people start threatening my friends.” The wolves are shifting again, glancing uncertainly between the sheriff, myself, and their alpha. Stiles stiffens a flabbergasted look on his face as he takes in the gun now pointed at his father.  
“Jack, I think you need to take your own advice.” I nod towards his gun. “Look, I know it’s hard to believe, but did you hear about the Goblin King a while back.”  
“Yeah, the man who went around abducting infants?” He pauses before the realization hits. “You have got to be kidding me. No way.” Unfortunately, both weapons are still pointed at someone and ready to be used at any time.   
“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!” Stiles yells.   
“She belongs in the Eichen House.” Sheriff Stilinski grumbled.   
“Now hold up a second. No one belongs in the Eichen House. Now, just hear me out. The Goblin King took me by working someone into the hospital staff to sneak me out and then snuffing out another kid and putting them in my crib. Honestly, I’m not sure how it worked out, but I was one of the first to get taken. I know later they polished up their act, but I’m honestly surprised with him getting away with the crap job that he ran here. I think he might have also had some people in the police too, but I never managed to confirm that.”  
“Now I know you’re crazy.” The sheriff said.  
“You know what. It doesn’t matter! We’re just here to try to find a way to make beacon hills stop being a beacon, so that the government doesn’t have to start selling insurance against supernatural attacks.” I grumble. I feel frustration bubble up in me. Immediately I force it down. Why am I frustrated. It’s expected that he isn’t going to believe that I’m his daughter. “So, do you want our help or not? After all, we can just go right now.”  
“No! We could really use the help.” Scott says, desperation hiding in his voice.   
“Okay, there we go, the Alpha says so.” I say simply.  
“Woah now, he may be the alpha, but I’m the sheriff of this town.”   
“Well, does your police force do much against the supernatural?” I say simply.  
“No, but-“  
“Well, sorry if I’m going to listen to the alpha of the territory since it’s his territory- in more ways than one.”  
“Alright! So, do you think you could show up the Nemeton?” Mac spoke up.  
“Yeah, I’ll-“ Scot starts.  
“Waitwaitwaitwait! Are we just going to ignore everything you just claimed?!” Stiles yells.   
“Well, I thought we were going to drop it since the sheriff is obviously not going to be budged in his perspective even though, as Peter stated before, ‘no one stays dead in this town’. Look, you don’t necessarily have to believe that I’m your twin or whatever, we just want to see what we can do about the supernatural hot spot that is Beacon Hills.” I shrug at him. “Tell ya what, tag along, and don’t make my friends angry, and I’ll answer as much as I can.” He gives me a lopsided grin.

“So, let me get this straight, you’re saying you’re my twin sister who was trained to be an assassin since birth, and now works with a top-secret organization who must remain unnamed?” He clarifies. Most of the pack had left to go back to their homes and enjoy their weekend. Now it was just Scott, Stiles, the sheriff, and the four of us.   
“Essentially.” I nod.  
“So how do you know about the supernatural? Like, how did you find out?” He asks as we leisurely walk through the preserve.   
“Oh, that’s a bit of a story.” I say, I force the wave of emotion that just the thought brings up.   
“But you said- “Stiles starts.  
“Well, we’re here, so I don’t think we’d have enough time to tell it.” I say, entering the clearing around the tree stump. I take in the giant sinkhole in front of the stump, moss already growing over the uneven ground.  
“Aw come on!” He grumbles.   
“So, Mac, you notice anything?” I ask him.  
“Just what are we looking for here?” Riley asks.  
“Well, anything really. It seems like the Nemeton has been corrupted. Did someone perform virgin sacrifices here?” Mac asks perplexed.   
“Well, there is a bit of an oppressing atmosphere. I would say there were a whole slew of sacrifices here. Especially since that collapsed area could definitely be a sacrificial chamber.” I reply.  
“What!? How can you tell?!” Stiles asks, voice rising indignantly.   
“Dude, it took us weeks to piece all of that together!” Scott replies.  
“Dude, it took me weeks to piece all that together.” Stiles corrects.   
“Well, the Nemeton isn’t just a source of power, it amplifies anything that happens around it. Given that and the already strong effects of rituals like sacrifices there is going to be an effect on the ambient magic around the Nemeton.”  
“Come on man, you get hard enough to understand when you start getting into the science mumbo-jumbo! How is that supposed to-“  
“Bad magic happened here, it feels reeeaaaaallly creepy.” I interrupt.  
“See. That’s all you had to say, brother.” Jack points to me.  
“Well, can we just get rid of the tree?” Riley suggests.  
“NO!” Mac, Stiles, and I all nearly shout at her.  
“Woah, okay there. Calm down. Just a suggestion. Remember, I’m new to the whole ‘magic’ stuff.”  
“Look Riley the Nemeton isn’t just rooted in the sense that it’s a tree it’s-“  
“Yeah, I’m going to stop you right there so I don’t have to listen to Jack complain about you being incomprehensible again. Think of the ambient magic like power lines. Those lines travel all over town, heck all over the world, occasionally twisting and tangling. Now, keeping that image in mind, the Nemeton is like a power plant or electric company. If we remove the Nemeton, it would tear out all the power lines, and any power lines tangled with them. Without ambient magic to keep the natural balance there would be natural disasters all over the place.”  
“Yeah, like earthquakes, tornadoes, plagues, famine, four horseman type stuff.” Stiles pipes in.   
“Oh- Okay, let’s not do that.” Jack nods shakily.


	6. Chapter 6

“So, then what do we do?” Riley asks.  
“Yeah, that’s the question we should be asking.” Mac replied. “That’s the only answer I’ve got.” He looked to me. I look to Scott.  
“Does your pack have an emissary?” I ask him.  
“Yeah, do you need to talk to him?” Scott asks. For a minute, I’m stunned with his response.  
“You know, usually the emissary is one of the pack’s most guarded secret. They would do anything to protect them, and keep their identity secret.” I say.  
“Wait, what’s an emissary?” Mac asks.   
“Exactly. That’s how it usually is. An emissary is a druid that advises and protects a pack. Much like how werewolves need an anchor to avoid shifting, a pack does better when they have an emissary to ground them in the human world. The death of an emissary would usually be a mortal blow to a pack. But obviously, you aren’t a normal pack. You have multiple anchors, so I guess you don’t have to be so protective of your emissary.”  
“So, uh, was that a yes?” Scott asks, sounding a bit lost.  
“Yes that was. Man, what would you do without me, Scott?” Stiles said, throwing his arm over Scott’s shoulder.  
“Follow me to the vet’s!” Stiles called over his shoulder. “And now you can tell me about just how you got into the supernatural world.” He winked at me.   
“Well, I’ve told you so much about myself, it’s only fair if you tell me first. You’re a normal human in a pack of supernaturals, I’d love to hear how that happened.” I grin at him.  
“Aw, come on! Now you’re just stalling!” Stiles complains, removing his arm from Scott’s shoulder. Scott watches with an amused grin on his face.  
“Well, I would like to know more about you.” I say, sincerely.   
“Well, I don’t think that would be such a great idea.” Sheriff Stilinski butts in. I feel a stab of hurt from the doubt and protectiveness in his voice. Get it together girl, why are you letting such a trivial thing get to you? You’ve killed men in cold blood, but you’re going to let this man hurt you just because he’s related to you? I push those thoughts down.   
“Well, fair enough. Let’s see, when I was seven, after a couple successful supervised mission, I was sent on my first solo job. The target was a young man, about twenty-seven years old.”  
“Wait, hold on. These guys sent a seven-year-old to assassinate a twenty-seven-year-old? How the hell do you expect me to believe that?” The sheriff interrupted me.   
“Hey, hey! Never doubt the Kayster! Trust me, when you doubt that she killed someone, a relative of that someone always comes to try to get revenge.” Oh, Jack. I don’t think you’re helping my case. The sheriff scowls, shaking his head like one would at a toddler caught in a lie.  
“Hey, I told you to never call me that ever again.” I glare at Jack, hoping he gets the underlying message.   
“What Jack’s trying to say is that Krysti isn’t the normal seventeen-year-old, and wasn’t a normal seven-year-old.”  
“You know, part of making a lie is making it strange enough to think ‘no one would lie about that’ but still making it sound believable.” The sheriff scolded.  
“Don’t mind the old man, I still want to hear this.” Stiles grins at me.   
“Uh, well so this man, Cameron Tamar was someone who the Goblin King tried to recruit but refused. To make an example of him, the Goblin King sent me after him. It took a long time to track him down, but I thought that would be the hard part. That wasn’t even kinda right. Anyway, imagine my surprise when I slip into the man’s house he’s got glowing yellow eyes, fangs, and claws.” His wide eyes are almost comical. “It took a while, and a bit of creative thinking, but eventually I got my charge and completed my mission.”  
“How did you manage to catch him.” Stiles asks. I feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of my neck as I realize he didn’t quite catch what my job was back then. I catch Jack staring wide-eyed at me.   
“Uh, son. I don’t think she was there to catch him.” The sheriff says, eyeing me suspiciously.   
“Well, I mean I caught his head when it was separated from his body.” I shrug. It’s almost hilarious as Stiles flails as he simultaneously jumps away from me and turns toward me, except he’s horrified from what he just heard. Scott’s head whips toward me, a horrified look on his face. “What did you think would happen? I told you I was an assassin!” I ask.  
“Well you said you were an ex-assassin!” Stiles yells.  
“Yeah. She also said this was when she was, like, seven.” Riley replies.   
“Why would you take his head off!?” Scott sounded like I just kicked his puppy.  
“Well, at the time I couldn’t figure out another way to kill him! He kept regenerating whenever I tried to kill him any other way. I didn’t know what else to do.”  
“But why would you kill somebody?” Scott tries.  
“Because I was told to.” I ask. I shrug again. “I’m a soldier. I do what I’m told. I don’t ask ‘why’.”   
“But you could’ve said no.” He tries again.   
“You’re a murderer.” The sheriff growls.  
“I’ve never denied that.” I say, forcing the memories back. Even still, the pain, the fear…  
“Now hold on Krysti, we’ve been over this. None of that was your fault.” Jack reassures me. It doesn’t quite work.  
“Kay, you didn’t-“ Mac starts.  
“Look, now isn’t the time for a therapy session. I said I’d answer whatever questions I could, so I gave you your answers. Now, let’s go see this emissary.” I cut him off before he can mention anything that can remind me of back then.   
“You’re hurting. Like you’re so sad it hurts.” Scott blurts, brows furrowing.   
“Shut up you stupid wolf.” I snarl. I don’t need to be reminded of everything I’ve done. Everything that’s happened.

“Stilinski!” I wince. I did a sloppy job for my first solo mission. The house was in ruins from the brawl we had, and I’m covered in blood. Unfortunately, it’s not all his.   
“Yes, milord?” I kneel down, still gripping the head in front of me.  
“Explain what happened.” The response was clipped. The Goblin King was not happy with me. I force myself not to react outwardly.  
“My lord, I tracked the target down to a small town in Cincinnati, and watched the target for a week before acting out the plan. The target was solitary, obviously trying to attract as little attention as possible. I thought it was because he knew he was living on borrowed time. I slipped into his house unnoticed, but when I made the killing strike, I slit his throat while he was sleeping. But then it closed!”   
“His throat?”   
“Yes milord.” I tense, waiting for him to strike, or call the guards. Instead, he laughs.  
“You truly are the best assassin we’ve trained, aren’t you?” All my training failed me as my shock slips onto my face.  
“E-excuse me milord?” I wince at my stutter.  
“Don’t worry, Stilinski. I’ll pardon any breaches of your bearing right now. It’s excusable, and no matter how well trained you are, the opening of a new world will take anyone off guard.”   
“I’m not sure I’m following you.” I reply carefully.  
“Stilinski, in all honestly, I sent you on that mission expecting you to die. I’ve sent soldiers out there to kill Tamar before, and they’ve come back dead.”  
“What.” I’d be hurt, but the Goblin King has already made it clear. I’m a valuable tool, but not much more. He doesn’t care if I live or die, the most it’s going to do is be like losing a knife.   
“Tamar, your target, was a werewolf. Most of the supernatural creatures of fairytales are real. I have been sending my best soldiers against Tamar to test them, and you are the first to come back alive, much less bring his head back. Tomorrow, you will start to receive special training. Keep in mind, you are not to reveal anything that we have just talked about.” 

“Kay, are you alright?” Riley snaps me out of my thoughts.  
“Let’s just get this over with. Just let me talk to your emissary and try to figure this all out.” I say, looking at Scott.   
“But-“  
“NOW.” I glare at the young teen. He hesitates before turning around and resuming the march to wherever we’re heading.   
It’s not long before we’re entering into a veterinarian’s clinic.  
“The dude’s a vet? Like, does he need to know dog and wolf anatomy in order to heal you guys or whatever?” Riley asks, taking a glance around.  
“No. But we still come here whenever we get hurt. Hard to explain to the hospital why a bunch of teens have bullet wounds with a seemingly horrible infection that’s never been seen in a human before. He’s always complaining about how he’s an animal doctor, not a people doctor.” Scott fills in.   
“Scott how is the-“ A tall, dark man comes out the door and tenses. I see him reach subtly under the counter, for a weapon I’m assuming. I can sense Jack and Mac tensing behind me. “What is she doing here?” The man asks coldly. I smile and wave at him.  
“Deaton this is-“ Stiles starts.  
“Look, I can see that you’ve just brought the Silver Wolf into my workplace. I’m just wondering why you thought that would be a good idea.” I fight back a wave of panic at the use of my old name.  
“The who now?” Stiles asks.  
“Look, I’m done with that life. I’m sorry if I did something to you, or killed one of your relatives or close friends. There’s nothing I can do to make that up to you, but I just want to see if I can help out with that stupid Nemeton. “ I look him in the eye.  
“So you quit working for the Goblin King?” He responds.  
“Yup.” I nod at him.  
“Then how are you still alive?”   
“Well, funny thing really.” I rub the back of my head. “The last person I assassinated was a man who went by the name of ‘Goblin King’. Then I started working for the government.”   
“So your three companions are also government agents?” He asks suspiciously.  
“Yep. We sure are.” Jack responds with a smile.   
“I didn’t realize that a kitsune would want to work for anyone.” The emissary replies.   
“Well, it’s lots of fun.” Mac says with a shrug.  
“Look, whoever you are, we just came here to try to help with that tree stump that’s sending out all the bad vibes.” Riley pipes in.  
“Well, I’m not sure how much I can help with that. I’ve been researching, but have had no luck with finding anything, so get out.” He says sharply.  
“Deaton, they’re just here to help.” Scott tells the man, giving him the kicked puppy look.   
“I don’t care, I don’t want someone who has specialized in killing druids in my shop.”   
“Oh, for God’s sake! That’s a load of bull. I specialized in killing anything supernatural. Not just druids, not just were-creatures or kanimas or anything specific.” I grumble.   
“Wait, you’ve killed kanimas?” Scott asks, bewildered.   
“I’ve killed whatever my boss pointed me at.” I stare at him. Deaton clears his throat. “Got it, leaving now.” I say, turning to the door and walking out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on I will try my best to post a chapter every Friday until the book is done. Enjoy!

I collapse on the bed with a sigh. After that mess with the emissary Jack, Mac, Riley and I headed over to the local motel. Mac and Jack were bedding in one room, and Riley and I in an adjoining room.   
“So, uh, can we talk about everything? Or do you want some time?” Riley asks, settling onto her bed.   
“Ask away. I’ll answer whatever I can.” I decide to give her the same deal I gave my twin brother. It’s only fair, I’ve known her quite a bit longer than Stiles anyway.   
“Well, uh, what happened to you? I mean, while you were working with the Goblin King.” She starts hesitantly.  
“Let me just make this clear. I worked for the Goblin King. I was gifted with the misfortune of having to do what he told me to do. But, essentially, it was hell. I’d rather have been in a maximum-security prison. And yes, I have been in one before. Long story, don’t bother asking. I’m not going to tell you on this mission, but maybe on a later date.”  
“Oh. But why did you do what he told you? Like, I know there’s usually blackmail, or very little choice, but what made you do what he wanted?” I hesitate, weighing how much to tell.   
“Well, trust me. When I was old enough to understand, what was going on, and my status as an assassin gave me lots of opportunities to see how the outside world worked, I did get a bit rebellious. But, I was smart enough to realize that I could be free, not smart enough to play along with the Goblin King until I earned his trust enough to get an opportunity to be free. Too little, too late. By the time they found me” I nod at the door separating us from Mac and Jack, “I was treated as if I were only a tool. Heck, after seven years of being treated like that, I thought I was a tool. Sometimes I still forget I’m allowed to feel. Sometimes, it’s better that I don’t feel.” She looks at me, horrified. “They, uh, well. Their methods of discipline were… Harsh.”  
“What, did they like whip you or something?” She asks softly.  
“Or something. Look, I’d rather not talk about this bit during a mission.” I tell her. “I was thinking you’d have questions more about any supernatural threats we’d be facing. Not trying to get me lost in the past.”  
“Oh, um. So, what’s a kitsune? That’s what Mac is, right?”  
“Yeah. He’s a pretty young one, too. Only two tails. Kitsune is the Japanese word for ‘fox’. The mythological creature, also called a kitsune, is a nine-tailed fox. The kitsune are traditionally tricksters, and one of the most powerful supernatural creatures out there. With only two tails, Mac isn’t going to be god-like or anything, but I’m actually disappointed in myself for not being able to piece together what he was. I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about kitsune, thank goodness I never had to try to kill one, so I don’t know how much I can tell you, but I’ll try my best.”  
“So, does Mac have any super-powers or anything?”   
“Well, you’d have to ask him, but my guess is that he doesn’t really have much. As a kitsune he’ll have much better reflexes, he’s a bit faster, and stronger than humans, but not much. Since he has two tails he can summon fox fire, which is probably one of the most dangerous things in the world. It’s where the legends of greek fire came from. It’s a fire that can only be put out by the kitsune who made it or a nine-tailed kitsune. Outside of that, I don’t really think Mac can do anything. Outside of his wily nature and any aforementioned powers, that’s probably all he can do.”  
“Probably?”  
“Well, kitsune gain more powers as they age, and Mac’s pretty young. I’ve heard some pretty gnarly stories about what older kitsune do.”  
“So, what? When Mac’s fifty he’ll be able to like, lift cars with his mind?” I can’t contain the snort at the idea. “Well, I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about what fox dudes can do!”  
“No. I’m not laughing at that suggestion. I don’t know if kitsune can actually develop some sort of telekinesis. The funny part was, and I know you didn’t know, but I think Mac’s already a couple hundred years old.”  
“I’m sorry, WHAT?!”   
“Kitsune age slower than humans, they can, theoretically, live for centuries.”  
“Wait, so Mac’s- “   
“Much, much older than Jack. OH! He also has enhanced hearing and smell, like a fox, so he’s probably been listening in on this conversation, so he can confirm whatever I said if he wants. The door swings open. Mac raises an eyebrow at me.  
“Really?” He stares right at me.  
“Am I missing something here?” Jack says, looking over Mac’s shoulder.  
“Oh, just listening to Kay here tell Riley exactly what makes me a total freak.” Mac groans. I roll my eyes.  
“Dude, you’re not a freak. You’re absolutely normal for what you are.” I tell him.  
“Tell that to the people who have tried to kill me for existing.” He replies.  
“Alright. Next time I see a hunter, I will go up to them and say: ‘Hey, just so you know, my friend here, Angus MacGyver, is not a freak. He’s just a kitsune.’”  
“Please, god, no.” He groans.  
“Wait, Krystie, you were telling Rylie about Mac and not me?!” Jack whines. Mac smacks him on the arm.  
“Well, you most certainly could’ve asked him. You know, considering you guys are basically brothers and bunking in the same room.”  
“Have you tried getting this guy to talk when he doesn’t want to?” Jack asks, pointing at Mac.  
“Yes, and you’re better at it. “I say simply.  
“Now, hold on sister-”Jack starts.  
“Why don’t we continue getting you two caught up in supernatural knowledge, rather than debating who should interrogate me.” Mac butts in.  
“Sounds good to me.” I nod. “Alright! Supernatural 101!” I clap, and Jack’s and Riley’s heads snap toward me. I slide my duffle bag from under the bed. “The two most important things for any human dealing with supernatural are: wolfs bane and mountain ash. Unzipping the bag, I pull out a small container of said flowers and a pouch of powdered mountain ash. As I do, Mac rolls his eyes and steps out of the room, allowing Jack full access of the room. As Jack walks in the room, I call out: “Jack, can you close the door?”   
“What, is Mac not going participate in the lesson?” Jack asks closing the door.  
“Well, considering this lesson could in fact potentially kill him, I think it’s safer if he stays in the other room.”  
“What now?” Jack asks, full mother hen mode activated.   
“Lesson one: if you want to do any lasting damage to any supernatural creature with regenerative capabilities, use wolfs bane. It’s one of the few poisons that work on them.”  
“Wait. You’re carrying around poisons that will kill Mac?” Jack nearly growls at me.   
“You carry a gun that can kill Mac. I carry poisons that can kill Mac. I’d never use it to kill Mac. Besides, I only found out that he was a supernatural twenty minutes before you two did.” I raise my hands in defense. Shaking my head, I continue. “Now, mountain ash is a special type of wood that contains magic. Supernatural creatures cannot pass over it. Usually a ring of the mountain ash dust is used to contain or guard against the supernatural.”  
“So, pretty flowers and fairy dust are the most dangerous things to werewolves and kitsune?” Jack asks.  
“Oh, trust me. Fairy dust is a completely different thing. Man, that was a fun night.” I wink.  
“Okay then. Great, that’s definitely something I wanted to know.” Riley snarks.  
“How old are you again?” Jack asks.   
“Dude, I’m a professional assassin! Why does it matter how old I was when I got high?!” My voice rises as I complain. Rolling my eyes, I call out to Mac. “Alright Mac, I’m putting the wolfs bane away. Gimme a sec, then you can come back in.” I put the container of the purple flowers away, followed by the pouch of mountain ash.   
“So, what else you got in that duffle bag?” Riley says, eyeing the bag carefully as Mac walks into the room.   
“Well, mostly I’ve got my weapons in there, uh, I try to keep as wide a variety of wolfs bane as possible now-a-days-“  
“Woah, whoa, whoa sister! Why in the world would you want to keep as much of that ‘wolfs bane’ stuff in your bag as possible?” Jack asks, raising an eyebrow at me.   
“Jack, wolfs bane is the cure for itself. It’s kind of reassuring to know that Kay has a wide variety of it.” Mac reassures.  
“Except for the fact that my duffle bag it kinda infused with mountain ash, so you wouldn’t be able to get to it without one of our help.” I say, wincing. “And really, only me, because I’d be able to correctly identify which one you were infected with, and identify which one to grab and how to use it as the cure.”  
“Come on, Kay. I’m trying to defend you here.” Mac frowns at me.  
“And this is my way of saying I really don’t need you to defend me.” I smile back. “Look, I’m used to the supernatural trying to kill me on site, I didn’t have time to prepare for having comrades that are not just human. I was trying to get Mac to cooperate.”  
“So, I’ve got another question.” Riley says, raising her hand.   
“Uh, okay?” Mac replies.  
“If you’re a couple hundred years old, how have you known Bozer since you guys were kids?”   
“A couple hundred?” Jack shoots a look at Mac. “And you call me old man?”  
“I’ve known Bozer since he was a child. I learned how to change how old I look a long time ago.”  
“Oh, so Bozer isn’t, like, a unicorn or something?” I find myself something. Mac give me a look that says ‘I didn’t expect you to be asking the dumb questions’. “Well, I mean he kinda fits the criteria. He’s very innocent, a faithful friend, but still a bit solitary. He’s got a very light personality. I could go on, but that’s not what we’re supposed to be doing. But now that we’re on the subject of Bozer, he’s gonna be pissed at you when he finds out you hid something else from him.”  
“I really don’t want to think about that right now. We should be focusing on catching these guys up with everything.” Mac grumbles.  
“Wolves and foxes don’t get along, so Mac’s probably going to be a bit grumpy for this mission.” I explain to Riley and Jack. “Granted, not this grumpy.” I raise an eyebrow at him.  
“And I’ll explain. After we teach these two all the basics.”  
“Okay. What’s considered basics?” I ask him.   
“Well, were-creatures for starters.” He answers.  
“You know, you’re allowed to tell them stuff too.” I find myself grumbling under my breath. Mac glares at me in response. “Werewolves are either born, or turned.” I raise a hand, stopping Jack as he takes a breath. “Only the bite of an alpha can turn humans into anything. Or claws, if they get deep enough I guess. An alpha’s eyes glow red. Typically, a werewolf can only achieve the status of alpha wolf if they manage to kill an alpha. Scott, this territory’s alpha, is a true alpha though. It means that he is virtuous, morally correct, and has never taken a life. His betas, on the other hand, well…” My voice trails off.  
“You could see it when they shifted when they thought we were threatening them while asking for their blessings to enter the territory. Some of the betas had blue, and some had gold. Those with blue eyes have taken an innocent life.” Mac finishes.  
“Werewolves can heal very quickly, again, wolfs bane is one of the most effective ways to kill them. They have great hearing and smell. They can hear the skip of a heart, the quickening of a breath when you lie.” I start listing off. I start wracking my brain for any other ‘basics’ that Riley and Jack would need to know.   
“So, you mentioned alphas and betas. Are there omegas?” Jack asked.  
“Yes. There are. Omegas are wolves without pack. They are usually the weakest wolves, and have been kicked out of the pack. They are also usually feral. That means they have lost their human half to become a vicious monster.”  
“What about the banshee?” Riley pipes up.  
“Banshee are rather rare creatures… not much is known about them.“ Mac starts.  
“From what I’ve seen, they can hear things that no one else can. Typical legends say that a banshee will scream when someone is about to die, right? But I don’t think that’s very accurate. It seems to me that their scream helps them focus on what they need to hear. I think rather than being the harbingers of death, they are the universe’s way of trying to prevent it. But those are just my thoughts.” I shrug at Mac’s surprised look. “I’ve had lots of time to observe most supernatural creatures.  
“What about these ‘hunters’ that keep coming up. They had one in their pack, right?” Jack asks.   
“Yeah. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure that part out. Hunters, as I mentioned before, are normal humans that hunt the supernatural. I’ve never heard of them joining packs, especially not the Argents.” I reply.  
“Could be teenage rebellion.” Mac suggested.  
“I don’t know. Last I checked, the Argents kill any supernatural creature that has killed. Considering the number of blue eyes in that pack, it doesn’t seem to me like they’d let anyone near them, other than to try to take them out from the inside. But, also considering the fact that there are still two Hales on the pack, they wouldn’t be too trusting of the Argents, so that would never work.”  
“Why, what happened between the Argents and the Hales?” Mac asks me. I shoot him a glance that hopefully says ‘dude, how do you not know what happened.’.  
“Well, once upon a time the Hales were one of the most feared, most numerous packs. They protected beacon hills, and the Nemeton. Then, a couple years ago, Derek Hale, the young man who tried to rip my throat out, found himself in a relationship with Kate Argent. Granted, eventually that relationship crashed and burned. Literally. Kate set fire to the Hale house, killing most of the Hale family. Both the human and werewolf members.”  
“Don’t give me that look. I’ve tried my hardest to stay out of the supernatural world.” Mac scowls.   
“Well, all this information is great and all, but how do we find a way to fix this Nemeton?” Jack says after a pregnant pause.


	8. Chapter 8

After Mac and I threw a couple of useless ideas back and forth, we decided to sleep on it and see what resources this pack had available to them. Now, it was dawn, and I was quietly rummaging through my duffle bag, stashing knives in my usual hidden spots. I glance at the door as it silently swings open, revealing Mac standing there. I nod at him, and he nods back. I glance at Riley’s sleeping form and take in Jack’s soft snores from beyond the door before nodding my head to the door that opens to the outside world. I quietly zip the bag back up as Mac makes his way lightly to the door. Soon Mac and I are standing in the crisp morning air, watching the sun rise over the forested preserve.   
“So, I was thinking that you could take Jack and Riley to go talk with the pack, and I’d go talk to the Argents. Minus the one in the pack, of course.” I finally break the comfortable silence.  
“Yeah, I was thinking of something along those lines. Granted, at one point I would like to see that kitsune’s family. Yukimura.” He trails off, lost in thought.  
“You have history with that family?” I ask quietly.   
“If her mom is who I think she is, yes. But, I really hope she isn’t.”  
“Well, maybe, but not today, we should send Jack and Riley to the pack and you and I will go have a talk the the Yukimura clan.” I stare out at the preserve, trying to assess just what creatures have made their home there.  
“Yeah, maybe. I just hate to throw them into the deep end like this. I was going to tell them, eventually, you know?” He looks over at me.  
“Yeah, me too.” I add quietly. There’s a pregnant pause before he says anything.  
“So, you’re the silver wolf?”  
“I was the silver wolf.” I stress the tense.   
“But you’re not a wolf.” He states, brows furrowing.  
“No.”  
“And your pack-”  
“Nope. They weren’t wolves either.”  
“Where are they now?”  
“Dead.” I grip the rail in front of me until my knuckles are white, trying to will away the flashes of their faces as they left, one by one.  
“Oh.” And there was nothing to say. We sat through the rest of the sunrise in silence. Until a familiar jeep pulls up in front of the motel. I frown as a lanky, spastic form climbs out of the jeep, alone.  
“Isn’t today a school day?” Mac asks what was running through my mind.  
“Yeah, but school doesn’t start until eight.” I tell him. I watch as Stiles starts to head to the office, before spotting us leaning against the handrail. He flails his arms in what I can only assume is a wave hello. I nod my head in response.   
“How is he your twin brother?” Mac asks, a smile playing out on his features.  
“I don’t think I have to point out that we’re not identical.” I say, watching him stumble up the stairs toward us.  
“How can you guys stand getting up this early?! I can barely manage to drag myself out of bed to go to school at eight! You two look like you’ve been up since dawn!” I wince as he practically yells in our face. I catch Mac’s worried glance at the thin door between this loud teen and our sleeping friends.  
“Think you can quiet down, I think our friends deserve a little rest after everything that’s been going on these past few days.” I tell Stiles quietly.  
“Oh. Sorry. I just took my Adderall. Look, I just wanted to come tell you that I looked into what you said, and I believe you.” I can’t help the rush of joy the words bring me. “But that doesn’t mean I trust you guys.”  
“If you just decided to trust us, especially after what you’ve been through, I’d be ashamed to be related to you. As it were, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t trust us either. We want to work with the Beacon Hills pack to try to fix the Nemeton.”  
“You said you were government agents.” Stiles starts hesitantly. “Do they have a secret branch that deals with… this stuff?”   
“No. Our superiors think we’re here to stop a budding terrorist group that likes to use trained wolves to take down targets.” Mac replies.  
“Really?” Stiles says, face scrunching up in confusion.  
“Surprisingly, yes. Granted, we did try to tell our director about what was really going on. I have no idea if she believed me, considering we haven’t heard from her since. But that’s not exactly concerning. While we weren’t specifically told, generally we work on radio silence, or local coms.”  
“So who do you work for?” Stiles’ brown eyes sparkle with curiosity.  
“Now that is something I can’t tell you.” I say with a soft smile. “So, while you’re here, what can you tell us about the Nemeton. We do know what it is, but we’d like to know how much your pack knows, so pretend we don’t know anything about magical trees in the woods.”   
“Well, the Nemeton is an ancient tree. Like dinosaur ancient. Over time it became a beacon of magic, drawing on the magic it absorbed over the millennia. When people stopped practicing magic, and supernatural crap started to fade into the backgrounds of society, the nemeton went into a sort of hibernation. Then, about a decade ago, a werewolf unknowingly committed a virgin sacrifice. That not only woke up that stupid tree, but corrupted it. Skip forward to a couple weeks ago when a darach came and did a bunch more dark sacrifices, and Scott, Allison, and I sacrificed ourselves so that the darach wouldn’t kill our parents. And now the Nemeton is actively drawing every supernatural creature in California here.” My mind raced to keep up with the rambling explanation, and I can tell by the look on Mac’s face that the kitsune was also getting a bit lost.  
“You- you sacrificed yourself?” Mac asks, eyeing Stiles strangely.  
“Yeah, Deaton gave us an ice bath to almost kill us, and did a ritual so that we would take the place of our parents.” A shiver is sent down my spine. I’d heard of magic like this, and no matter how hard you try, there are always consequences.  
“So now you have to live with a darkness around your soul.” I add quietly.  
“Yeah. How’d you know?” Stiles cocked his head curiously at me.  
“Things like that always leave a permanent mark.”  
“So what do you guys know about the Nemeton?” Stiles asks.  
“Well, before I learned the personal history, all I knew was this nemeton was ancient, powerful, and dark.” I answer truthfully.  
“Same here.” Mac says with a nod.   
“So, you’re a kitsune, and you’re a wolf. What are your two friends? Like, what do they do?” Stiles asks, nodding towards the door.   
“Well, Riley is a hacker, and Jack’s the muscle essentially.” I tell him.  
“Wait, you said you’re a wolf. Shouldn’t you be the muscle? Or is he like, a berserker in disguise?” Stiles looked at the door to our room in curiosity.  
“I never said I was a wolf. You assumed.” I correct him.  
“But then why did Deaton call you the ‘silver wolf?’” Stiles asks, head snapping back to me.  
“Basically, because people refused to believe that the world’s best supernatural assassin was a completely normal human. It helped to feed the rumors, humans can do much that wolves can’t, so I let the rumors continue uncontested.”   
“Yeah. People tend to underestimate us, don’t they?” Stiles smirked.  
“It’s seven-forty-five. You should probably get to school.” I say simply.  
“What?! This is way more important. School can wait.” Stiles whines.  
“Stiles, I’m not going to be the reason you’re late to school. We’re not on any timetables so this can wait until after school. Besides, we need to talk to the rest of your pack.” Mac scolds.  
“Well, that’s gonna be a bit complicated considering they’re also going to be in school.” Stiles grumbled. Mac’s eyebrows shot up comically.  
“Your whole pack is made of high schoolers?!” He remarks, surprised.  
“With exception to the Hales, I presume.” I pipe in cheerfully. Stiles nods in confirmation. Mac throws his head back and groans.   
“Great. Just what I want to deal with. Teenage werewolves.” Stiles chuckles and pats his shoulder.  
“Welcome to Beacon Hills.” 

After letting Riley and Jack sleep in, we gathered in Mac and Jack’s room.   
“So, there’s a bit of a slight change in plans. I’m going to go talk to the Argents. Mac will stay with you two and try to catch you up on as much supernatural knowledge as he can, then once the high school gets out you’ll meet with the pack. If I’m not back by then Mac will go with you to the pack, but if I’m back Mac and I will meet with the kitsune’s family.” Jack takes the change of plan in with a nod, but Riley still looks a bit groggy from sleep.   
“Are you sure you should go talk to Argent?” Mac asks.  
“Yes. If anything, just to make sure he isn’t about to hunt you down.” I answer.  
“Well, if he’s smart he wouldn’t go hunting foxes.” Mac says smirking.  
“You seem to forget; his daughter has a pack of wolves.” I reply.  
“I didn’t forget. They’re all high schoolers, they can’t catch me.” Mac argues.  
“Dude, they’ve got to be decent to be able to have survived in Beacon Hills for this long. Do you know what’s happened here?” I hope my look conveys just how much he’s underestimating these kids.  
“Why, what has happened here?” His eyebrows scrunch up.  
“Well, first a feral alpha runs rampant, terrorizing people, followed by a kanima. Then they had to deal with Gerard Argent, I’m sure you know who that is. Then, they fought off a pack of alpha werewolves and a darach making human sacrifices, and now dealing with all the shit that the Nemeton draws to this town. Not to mention their alpha is a true alpha. The first in the past couple centuries.”  
“You know, I didn’t understand half the things you said, and part of me doesn’t want to.” Riley grumbles.  
“Well, knowing will definitely help with this mission.” Mac starts.   
“But it’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to know. Trust me, if I thought Mac and I could deal with this without dragging you two into this world, we would. But knowing you two, if we tried anything like that, you’d find a way to walk completely blindly into this world, which would result in at least one of our deaths, if not all. This, all of this supernatural crap, is an irreversible change.” I finish.  
“Now hold on there. First off, it’s my job to protect you guys. Don’t start keeping secrets from me just to protect me. Second, before, you were saying that you found out about Mac being a kitsune during the briefing for the mission, now, you’re talking as if you’ve known all along.” I shoot a glance at Mac as Jack goes on his little rant.  
“She did find out during the mission briefing, but anyone in this world knows that once you find out about it, there’s no going back. So yes, we can both readily agree that if there were another way to do this without exposing you to the supernatural, we would. Jack, it’s more than just protecting you from this world. Simply knowing about the supernatural makes you vulnerable. When you start seeing the world in a different way, the world starts affecting you in a different way. You have no idea how many disasters we’ve avoided on missions because you three, err, two didn’t know about the supernatural.” Mac explains.  
“Trust me, its more than you would expect.” I nod. “So, now that we have that worked out, I’ve gotta go meet a hunter. Bye!” I slip out of the door before anyone can ask me more questions, leaving Mac to teach the two newcomers the ways of the supernatural world.

After a bit of searching, I found the Argent’s home. It seems they had used to own a large house on the outskirts of town, but now have a large apartment. Now I find myself in front of a plain white door, with a peephole and a nameplate that read: ‘Argent’. I knock on the door. If I strain my ears, I can hear near silent footsteps to the door, and the rustle of cloth as I assume the person coming to the door is reaching for a holstered weapon. He doesn’t touch the door, and he seems to be waiting for me to do something. I knock again.  
“Mr. Argent? I would like to talk to you.” I call loudly, not giving away that I know he’s right behind the door. No need for him to think I’m a wolf. The door opens to reveal an older man with a short beard and brown hair dusted with gray.   
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” He asks.  
“I’m just visiting town. I came here to help with the giant tree stump in the preserve.” I state simply. His eyebrow quirks up.  
“And who might you be?” He responds.  
“My name is Krystiana Stilinski.” He reaches back for his gun, and I throw my hands up in the ‘I’m not armed’ gesture. “Look, I know it’s crazy, but I’m not lying. I was one of the first children taken by the Goblin King.” By now he has his weapon drawn, but he isn’t pointing it at me, so I take it as a sign to continue. “I work for the government, and my team and I were sent to try to stop what our superiors believe are a budding terrorist cell that use wild animals. We were hoping we could maybe work together to see if we can come up with a solution to the corrupt Nemeton in your backyard.” I suggest. Still eyeing me carefully Argent puts his gun away and steps back, obviously inviting me in. I nod thankfully and step through the door.  
“Sorry, I’m sure you can understand why I’d be cautious when a young girl shows up alone at my door. You can call me Chris.” He says, motioning to a simple living room, furnished with a simple couch, a couple armchairs, and a glass coffee table.  
“Before you ask, I have talked to the local pack, and I have talked with the sheriff.” I start off, getting the questions that were obviously running through his head out of the way. “Stiles also filled me in on the more specific history of what’s happened with the Nemeton lately, so yeah.” Chris nods, processing the information.   
“Who else is part of your team?” Chris asks, motioning for me to take a seat on the sofa. He sits on the armchair opposite of the couch.  
“A kitsune and two humans.” I tell him, sitting down.  
“Who are you?” He says, frowning. Part of me wants to go the whole ‘I already told you’ route, but I am trying to earn his trust. Instead, I sigh.  
“Formerly? I was known as the Silver Wolf. Now? As I said, I work for the government to protect this country, and occasionally, the world.” He tenses, and I see him reaching for his gun again.  
“But you’re not a werewolf. Or anything.” He asks, confused.  
“No. I’m not.”   
“And you’re a teenager.”   
“Yes, I am.”  
“Yet you were the most dangerous person in the whole supernatural world.”  
“I wouldn’t say most dangerous. I was definitely a formidable power though.” I shrug.  
“And you had a pack.”  
“I was trying to feed the theories that I was a werewolf. Look, I’m here about the Nemeton, okay?”   
“Right, right. Sorry.” He shakes his head. “My daughter and I have been researching it, but we haven’t exactly come up with anything helpful. The only thing remotely plausible would be to have a creature of purity come and fix it.”  
“A creature of purity? Like a unicorn or something?” I ask.  
“Unfortunately, yes. That’s the only way we’ve found so far.”  
“Damn. The last unicorn was seen, what? A century ago?” I find myself thinking aloud.  
“Yeah. Granted unicorns aren’t the only ‘pure’ creatures. Phoenixes and dragons were also part of that list.” He adds.  
“Well, that’s not exactly helpful.” I grumble. He shrugs in response. “Has the druid been researching purification rituals?”  
“Yes, but he says none of the ones we have found can undo the act of virgin sacrifices.” Chris answers. “Why haven’t you gone to see him.”  
“I did. He didn’t want to have anything to do with me. I guess he could recognize me. I’m not sure how though. I always did everything in my power to conceal my identity when I was…” My voice trails off.  
“I’ve never really been good at reading people. Most of my time has been devoted to learning how to understand wolves and wendigoes, but I can tell you’re not a bad person. You were brainwashed from a young age. The fact that you’re not the Silver Wolf anymore, that you’re now trying to help everyone? That’s how I can tell.” I give a small chuckle.  
“Don’t worry. My team tells me basically the same thing all the time. Granted, up until yesterday, they didn’t know I was the Silver Wolf. Apart from the kitsune, they didn’t even know about the supernatural until this mission.”   
“They sound like good people.” Chris nods at me.  
“The best. Which makes me the black sheep of the group. But that’s not what we should be discussing. What do you know about ‘pure’ creatures. Are they born, of can they be created, like wolves?” I focus on the problem at hand, pushing the guilt of my past life down. I hear Chris give a small sigh before continuing. “Or, perhaps there’s a way to make a hybrid purification ceremony? Maybe combining a couple would make them strong enough to wash away the dark magic that’s been there. Or we could just try burning it down.” I add the last part as a joke, but see Chris wince. Oh shit. The Hale fire. That was his sister. I ponder what to do, but decide the best course of action would be to pretend I don’t know anything about who was to blame for the fire, so he doesn’t think I’m mocking him. Cocking my head to the side playfully, I continue. “That was supposed to be a joke, don’t worry, I know destroying the Nemeton would create catastrophic ramifications.”  
“As far as I know, we don’t have anyone experienced enough in magic to create a hybrid purification spell. The emissary is just a druid, not a witch or mage, so I doubt he’d have the know-how to do it, or he’d have suggested it already.”  
“He’s a druid. They specialize in vague answers and hiding truths. I’d ask him, just to make sure.” I say simply.  
“You said your friend is a kitsune?” Chris asks me.  
“Yeah, but he’s a young one. Only two tails.” I confirm.   
“Have you tried talking with Mrs. Yukimura?”   
“I haven’t yet, but she’s my next stop.”  
“You should go see her.” I nod, and we head to the door. As I step into the elevator, Chris calls out from behind me. “Thanks for offering you’re help. In a town like Beacon Hills, its refreshing to have kind visitors every now and again.” Holding the elevator door open I think of my earlier comment to Mac.  
“And it’s refreshing to meet a hunter that isn’t hell bent on ridding the world of supernatural creatures. Hey, just so you know, my friend, Angus MacGyver, is not a freak. He’s a kitsune.” I wink, and let the doors close.


	9. Chapter 9

I walk back to the motel to find empty rooms. They must be meeting with the pack. Still, I investigate, because in our line of work you can’t be too cautious. First, I check Riley’s and my room. A quick scan shows that Riley’s laptop bag and laptop are gone. No signs of rushing, or panic, and everything else is still there, so again, no reason to panic. An inspection of Mac and Jack’s room shows the same conclusion. Nothing to worry about. So, instead, I settle down to wait. Mac and I can go see the Yukimura’s tomorrow, so for now I’m going to relax a bit. I sink into the bed with a sigh. How in the world has life gotten this crazy? Man, I had hoped to leave this life behind when I joined the Phoenix Foundation. Huh, ironic. We need a phoenix and the Phoenix Foundation came to help. It's a shame that all the creatures that we need are extinct. Supposedly. It’s a big world out there, but if there are any out there, the chances of us being able to find one is astronomical. I’m brought out of my thoughts by a knock at the door. I get up silently, peeking out of the peephole. My eyes widen as I see the Sheriff. I quickly open the door.   
“Sheriff, how can I help you?” I ask.  
“Why are you here?” He asks curtly.  
“Sheriff, we’re just here to help with that stupid tree.” I reply.  
“No, why are you here. I know government agencies usually avoid sending agents on missions that are personal to them.”  
“I have a hard time letting anything get personal to me. Sure, it’s great to finally be able to talk, and interact with my family, but I get just as much ‘thrill’ taking down world renowned assassins that are hunting me and my friends. Sure, there are people like Mac who are experts at compartmentalizing their emotions so they can go on missions that hit close to home, but I just don’t really feel them.” A flicker of fear and pain passes over the Sheriff’s face.  
“So, why did you tell us who you were?” The Sheriff asks.  
“Well, something tells me lying about who I was wouldn’t go well if we’re trying to work with you guys. I can fool werewolves when I lie, but my friends can’t. Eventually, someone would realize I’m not being honest about who I am, and that would be counterproductive. If we want to deal with the Nemeton, then we need to work together. If we want to work together we need to trust each other. Lying, as I understand, is the biggest thing that destroys trust.”  
“So, you really are my daughter…” His voice trails of, guilty.  
“It was never your fault. There was nothing you could do to prevent it.” I find myself reassuring him.   
“But I’m your father!” He yells. I can’t help but smile. “What?” He frowns. I feel oddly satisfied.  
“Well, it’s just, I’ve waited a long time for someone to say that. I don’t blame you. I get to protect everyone now. I work for the government, I get to try to make up for everything I’ve done.” I give him a soft smile.  
“Can I come in?” I can’t help but blush, because I completely forgot that we were standing in the doorway of a motel.  
“Yeah, totally, sorry.” I step back from the door, letting him in. He steps in, and I gesture to the bed. It’s the ideal place to sit in here, the chairs being really uncomfortable. He sits on the edge of Riley’s bed, and I sit cross-legged in the middle of mine.   
“Do you mind me asking what I missed out on?” He said, gesturing loosely at me.   
“I don’t mind, but I’m not sure you really want to know.” I say. A storm seems to pass over his face.  
“I’m sorry.”  
“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t even know I was alive, you couldn’t have known what I was going through.” I reassure the Sheriff.  
“I feel like it’s my responsibility to know, though.” He responds, mutedly. I nod.  
“Well, ask away.” I shrug.  
“Deaton warned us about you, about being the Silver Wolf. Stiles texted me today, though. He said you’re not a wolf, you’re completely human. How did you get that title?”   
“Well, simply, humans can do a lot of things wolves can’t. It helps when people try to fight you like they would a wolf when wolfsbane and mountain ash don’t affect me. But, I got the title because I’m a vicious fighter, and for a while I had a ‘pack’. A small family I knew I could trust with my life, even though we couldn’t trust the Goblin King.”  
“So it’s true then. You were an assassin?” The sheriff asks, slack jawed.  
“Yeah.” I answer simply.  
“I- how many people?” He asks quietly. I hesitate.  
“The only reason I learned how to count over a hundred was to keep track of all the missions I took. I was best known for never having failed a mission.” I nearly whisper. As I say it, all the faces flash before my eyes, the sharp stench of blood, the final gasps of breath. I close my eyes, clenching my fists. I force the thoughts down. I stiffen as arms wrap around me. I feel tears dripping off the Sheriff’s face, landing softly on my shoulder. I softly embrace the Sheriff back, surprised to find my eyes moistening as well.  
“I’m so sorry.” Is all he can say.  
“It’s in the past, there’s nothing you can do to change that.” I try to reassure. “Just have to live life from now on, getting farther and farther from the past.” I say, repeating what Jack tells me all the time.   
“You’re wise beyond your years.” The Sheriff states. I chuckle.  
“That’s something my friend always tells me.”   
“Then you’ve got great friends.”  
“That I do. That I do.” He finally releases me, and sits back on the bed.   
“What was it like, working for the Goblin King?” He continues.  
“Hell. He, well by the time I was seven I was one of his best assassins, but I was only a tool, a weapon, and when I got rebellious I would need ‘breaking in’. I- I’m not quite sure how I managed to survive. I just know that every time they brought me to the brink of death, I let that make me stronger than ever.” I curse myself for the stutters, the breaking of bearing, before reminding myself that it’s okay. This is my father. My father. God, I’ve always wanted to say that.  
“If- if you don’t want to, or can’t, tell me, it’s fine, but what did they do to you?” He says, reaching a hand to put on my leg.  
“To discipline us, they’d torture us. To train us, they’d have us fight until we had nearly killed each other, sometimes they would make us kill each other. Missions were essentially vacations for me. Being the best of the best got me ‘trained’ the hardest, disciplined the worst when I messed up. Sometimes, they’d have me fight creatures that they had captured. When Mac and Jack found me, I had just killed three alphas that they had locked me in a room with.”  
“How did they get you away from the Goblin King?” He asks, scowling at the thought of what I just told him.  
“They didn’t. They opened the door, revealing me standing over three dead bodies, and the guards caught up with them. But I saw them, the way they looked at me was something I’d never seen before. They didn’t look at me like I was disgusting, nor did they look at me with pity, or like they were above me. They looked at me, and I saw compassion in their eyes. I knew that they were my only hope of getting out, alive. That was when I made my decision. The guards knocked them both out, and I killed the guards. It was pathetically easy, and part of me wondered why I hadn’t done it before, but I knew why. They were my only hope of having a life after getting away from the Goblin King, but I knew I’d never have a life if the Goblin King were to hunt me down. Instead, I tied them up in loose knots, and took the to the court of the King, still unconscious. I told the Goblin King I caught the intruder, and when he came forward to inspect them, I snapped his neck. I was surprised at how easily he went down.” I take a breath, clenching the bedsheets in my hands to try to stop the shaking. “They came to minutes later, and we had to fight our way out. Their boss gave me the opportunity to make up for what I’d done, and I took it.”  
“I- I know I sound like a broken record by now, and you said I don’t need to apologize, but I still need to say it. I am so sorry.” He tells me, looking me straight in the eyes. I can see the tears streaming down his face.  
“Would you like to join us for dinner? Stiles and me, I mean.” He asks suddenly. My eyes widen, and I feel a shock of excitement.  
“I’d love to. I’ll tell these three that they’re on their own tonight. What time?” I ask.   
“Nine o’clock, at our house. The address is-” He starts.  
“Erm, not to sound like a stalker, but I know where you live. Ever since I found out how the Goblin King got all his ‘soldiers’, I searched for you guys. That’s how I knew y’all were rather invested in the supernatural. I’ve come to town every once in a while, just to see you guys.” I admit carefully. He chuckles at that.  
“Yup, you definitely have Stilinski blood in you.” He smiles in apology. “Sorry, I’ve got to get back to work, but I’ll tell Stiles we’re having you over.” He gets up and walks to the door.  
“See you there.” I smile

It was about seven-thirty when Mac, Riley, and Jack came back to our rooms.   
“How’d it go with the pack?” I ask the three as they walk in.  
“They don’t know much, just what we’ve learned so far.” Jack replied.  
“How did it go with Argent?” Mac asks.  
“Well, not much better. Basically, just that the only hope we’d have lies in the extinct ‘pure’ creatures. Unicorns, dragons, and phoenixes are the things that could help us if we could find them…” My voice trails off.  
“Wait, phoenixes are real?” Mac asks, surprise written on his face.  
“Well, they were up to a couple hundred years ago.” I tell him.  
“That’s a bummer…” He replies.  
“Yeah, so that just means we’re back to square one.” Riley states.  
“Yeah. Basically.” I nod. “On a completely different note, I’m going to have dinner with the Stilinski’s, sooo… yeah.”  
“Wow. Congrats.” Riley says.  
“Thanks.” I smile at her.  
“Now, I’m happy for you Krystie, but just remember what the priority is here.” Jack warns.  
“Jack, when have I ever let my emotions get in the way of a mission before?” I respond. He pauses, obviously trying to come up with an instance.   
“Fair enough.” He finally concedes after a few moments of silence.  
“Alright, there’s a pretty good diner just down the street if you want, or I’m sure you can ask the person at the desk for suggestions if you don’t, but I’m going to head off now.” I say, glancing at my watch.  
“Hey.” Mac says, catching me before I get out the door. “Don’t forget, you’re a human.” I smile at him, and he nods in return.  
“Got it.” I slip out into the cool evening air and set off at a leisurely walk. I feel excitement, and to my surprise, nervousness bubble up in my chest. I’m going to go have dinner with my family.

It’s eight forty-five, and I find myself staring at a door I’ve only ever seen from a distance. I take a moment to calm my surprisingly racing heart before knocking on the door. Almost instantly the door flies open.  
“Heeeey! Krystie! I can call you Krystie, right?” He says, wrapping me in a hug. Instinctively I stiffen at the contact, and Stiles lets go of me instantly. “Heh, sorry. Scott says I’m clingy, but he’s so wrong. I’m just very tactile. But he’s the one that cuddles with anyone in a five-foot radius. I guess at least it’s understandable for him, considering that he’s a wolf. Cause, you know, wolves are very pack oriented and such.” He rambles on and on, and a smile creeps onto my face.  
“Don’t worry, I’m just still getting used to the whole fact that most people who touch me aren’t going to try to kill, maim, or torture me. And I don’t mind being called Krystie. I like Krystie or Kay.” I reply. He gives me a giant grin, and steps back, waving me into the house.  
“Dad! Krystie is here!” Stiles calls out. The sheriff comes thundering down the stairs.  
“Hey. Glad you could make it! So, do you prefer Krystie over Krystiana, or is my son just being his annoying self?” The sheriff asks playfully.  
“I prefer Krystie, or Kay.” I say, smiling at him.  
“Well, Kay, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. We could sit in the living room and chat if you’d like.” The sheriff suggests.   
“That sounds delightful.” I reply. I follow the two into a lightly furnished room with a T.V. and a coffee table. There are a few pictures scattered around, but not much else. I settle down in a comfy arm chair, Stiles splays out on the couch, and the Sheriff sits in a recliner. “So,” I start, a bit awkwardly. “go ahead and ask anything. I’ll answer whatever I can, without disclosing confidential intelligence of course.” I offer.   
“Okay! So, I know you explained why you let the nickname stick around, but why did people start calling you the Silver Wolf? Like, there had to be a reason people thought you were a wolf, rather than a kanima or something? Did you have a pack? Did you kill the supernatural exclusively, or did you, like, kill normal human beings too? And what about hunters? Did you ever go after hunters?” He only stops for air. “And-“  
“Son, I know she said to ask anything, but usually when you ask a question, you get an answer back. Give her a chance to respond, will you?” The Sheriff interrupts the torrent of words coming out of Stile’s mouth.  
“Oh, sorry.” He says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.”  
“It’s fine. Let’s see. People started calling me Silver Wolf because I wore bone white armor. I don’t know why they didn’t call me white wolf though. Uh, they called me a wolf specifically because of the mask I wore. It was a Japanese mask of a snarling wolf. At one point I had a ‘pack’, people I trusted with my life, but it turned out I had too much faith in their abilities. They- well, they weren’t as good at surviving as me.” I curse myself as my voice catches in my throat. I see the Sheriff take a breath, probably to either comfort me, or to say I don’t need to go on, but I continue before he can say anything. “Let’s see. I killed whatever the Gobling King wanted me to. I was one of the few that were good enough to take on the supernatural, so that’s what I took on most of the time, but I would occasionally do ‘normal’ humans. As for hunters, I never did go after them, I don’t know if it’s because the Goblin King thought they were allies, or if he simply didn’t see them as a threat, but I never did.” I go through Stile’s rambling in my head to make sure I answered all his questions. Both the Sheriff and Stiles look at me, slack-jawed. “What?”   
“You actually kept up with me?” Stiles asks, perplexed. The sheriff shot him an irritated look.  
“Stiles, she just told us that the people she was closest to during the hell she went through were killed, and that’s what you’re surprised about?!” Sheriff scolds Stiles.  
“Erm sorry.” He says, giving me an apologetic smile.  
“Don’t worry. The past is the past. There’s no use being fixated on what’s set in stone.” I reassure him.  
“So, how long ago did you get away from the Goblin King?” The Sheriff asks.  
“A little less than two years ago.” I shrug. This warrants another slack jawed look from the Sheriff. Seeing the look on his- our- father’s face, Stiles face contorts in confusion.  
“What’s so amazing about that?” Stiles asks.  
“Well, I’m just surprised at how well off she is, considering what she went through. Two years isn’t really that long, especially when dealing with trauma’s like what she’s been through, Stiles. I’m no psychologist, but I’m pretty sure being tortured and pitted against other kids to the death usually leaves some pretty big scars.” The Sheriff explains to his son.  
“Well, you’re right. It does leave some pretty big psychological scars. I suffer from PTSD, survivor’s guilt complex, OCD, paranoia, depression, and a whole slew of others mental disorder. I’ve just been trained to never let that interfere with a mission.” I say simply. Now the both of them are back to staring at me like I’ve grown another head. I raise an eyebrow at them, and they both jump as a timer goes off in the kitchen.  
“Oh! Well, that’s dinner, so I’d better, uh, go.” Stiles said, standing up and gesturing wildly towards the kitchen, before dashing out of the room. There’s a moment of silence as the Sheriff and I watch Stiles rush off.  
“So…” The Sheriff starts. I raise an eyebrow as I wait for him to continue. “You really suffer from all that?” He continues quietly.  
“Like you said, dealing with those traumas leave pretty big scars.” I answer with a nod. The Sheriff hums thoughtfully. “By the way, what should I call you? I- well, I’m not sure I’m ready to call you dad or father or anything like that, no offence, and I don’t want to keep referring to you as ‘the Sheriff’, so, what can I call you?” I ask tentatively.  
“No, worries, I understand. I suppose you can just call me John.” He answers with a soft smile.  
“Thanks, John.” I respond.  
“Now let’s get into the kitchen. Stiles may seem like a hopeless fool, but he’s a wonderful cook!” John exclaims.  
“Now that sounds like a plan!” I agree with a smile. John leads me to a small dining room, adjoining the kitchen. The table has three place settings set and John pulls out a chair and gestures for me to sit. I give him a mock bow and sit down as he pushes the chair in for me, chuckling at my antics.  
Stiles comes out of the kitchen holding a large mixing bowl of salad. “Go ahead and start serving the salad, I just need to grab a few more things from the kitchen.” Stiles says, setting the bowl down with a flourish, nearly tipping the bowl.  
“Careful Stiles!” John reprimands gently.   
“Aww, come on! I had it all under control!” Stiles shoots back as he heads back into the kitchen.   
“That boy.” John sighs. I give a chuckle.   
“This salad looks delicious.” I comment, taking in the vibrant colors of the vegetables.  
“Well, as I said, Stiles is an amazing cook.”   
“Why thank you, dear father!” Stiles says, rushing back into the room. He’s carrying a platter laden with a complete roasted chicken. My eyes widen in surprise.  
“Wow! That looks great.” I tell Stiles.  
“Well of course it does. I made it after all!” He replies proudly.  
“Alright, I think he’s got a big enough head already, let’s chow!” John complains. Chuckling, I do just that, digging into my salad as Stiles serves the chicken.  
“This is really good Stiles.” I affirm one more time.  
“D’awwww.” Stiles fans himself with exaggerated movements. Dinner passes quickly, as the three of us make small talk over the delicious meal.

As the meal comes to an end and Stiles brings out a small tray of cookies.  
“So, we’ve asked you plenty of questions, do you have any for us?” John asks.  
“Yeah, I can think of a few.” I answer playfully.   
“Well, ask away!” John encourages.  
“Okay, first question: How did the two of you get introduced to the world of the supernatural?” John shoots a glare as Stiles, and said teenager chuckles nervously.  
“Uh, well, funny story really.” Stiles starts, rubbing the back of his neck.


	10. Chapter 10

“So, lemme get this straight. You found out about the supernatural when you dragged your lifelong friend out into the woods to look for a dead body that the police were looking for, got separated from your friend, who then found the body, only to be chased and bitten by a rouge alpha?” I ask, my head spinning at the tale I was just told.  
“Yeah, that about sums that part up.” Stiles says, nodding enthusiastically.  
“And then you tried to explain it to John, before he was captured by a darach and almost sacrificed as a guardian for the Nemeton.”  
“Yep.” John answers, popping the ‘p’.  
“And you’ve managed to survive so far how, exactly?” I joke, receiving chuckles from the two.  
“Well, thank goodness you understood that story quickly. Otherwise, Stiles might have had to break out the chessboard.” John says, raising an eyebrow at Stiles.  
“I was trying to present you with organized, understandable data!” He defends.  
“Well, it wasn’t very organized. Or understandable.” John rebuts.  
“The key word was ‘tried’, dad.” Stiles mumbles. I can’t help the giggle that sneaks out, watching both of them go back and forth. They both look at me, grinning.   
“So, what other questions do you have for us?” John asks. I don’t hesitate, I already know what I want to ask.  
“When did- when did Claudia, erm…” Despite my lack of hesitation in coming up with the question, I find myself not wanting to finish it. The room was filled with silence.  
“Eight years ago.” Stiles answers quietly.   
“And how?” I ask.  
“Frontotemporal dementia.” John fills in.  
“Oh.” I let the silence hang, watching the two in front of me reflect. After a few moments I break the silence, clearing my throat. “So, uh, I’ve got one more question.” They both snap out of their memories to look at me, and I find myself thinking about the team’s recent mission in Hawaii. Mac’s absolute refusal to celebrate his birthday, and Jacks insistence to throw a party. “When’s my birthday?” They both look at me in shock.  
“You don’t know?” Stiles asks.  
“Would I be asking if I knew?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “When you’re training little kids to be weapons, birthdays aren’t something high on the list of priorities. In fact, when it’s at the bottom.”   
“Alright, I get it. Stupid question.” Stiles admits. “April 8th. That’s our birthday. Man! That’s weird to say. ‘Our birthday’. Because, you know, we’re twins. You know, I wonder if we have some sort of super twin powers! We met an alpha pack, and they had these twins that could combine into this mega-wolf thing.” Stiles rambles on, nearly knocking his cup off the table with his large hand gestures.  
“Stiles, those were twin alpha wolves. We are twin human beings. It’s unlikely we can do anything of the sort. Especially since we’re not identical twins.”  
“Yeah. I guess that makes sense.” He sounds really disappointed.  
“Thank god. Sorry, but I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if you guys could turn into a two-headed person, or something crazy like that.” John jokes.  
“I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if I could do that.” I respond with a smile. That makes a thought occur to me. “So, Stiles, why haven’t you asked for, or received the bite from your friend? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t, I just want to know your reasoning.”   
“Well, I like being human. I mean, no offense to the pack, but being a werewolf seems to bring up more problems than they solve. Yeah, cool! They get super strength, and can hear my heartbeat, but they have to worry about full moons, about hunters, and wolfs bane, and mountain ash. I don’t. Granted, I still have to worry about my friends trying to maul me on the full moon occasionally, but not as much. And everything that goes bump in the night tends to end up trying to kill me…” His voice trails off. “What about you? I mean why have you not accepted the bite? Or have you wanted the bite, but just never been given the chance. Because, if that’s the case, then I’m sure Scott can hook you up if you really want the bite.”  
“Woah there! For our sanity’s sake, why don’t you try to keep it to one question at a time there kiddo?” John interrupts the torrent of questions.  
“Heh, sorry.” He says, rubbing the back of his neck.   
“Well, I mean for me it’s mostly the same reasons. I don’t want the bite because it tends to do more harm than good. Besides, as I mentioned before, it’s incredibly handy when people think you’re a supernatural creature when you’re not. Also, maybe it’s a bit selfish, but I like being able to say that I’ve accomplished all this stuff while being human, not a super strong wolf, or smart fox, or anything.” I answer.  
“Ah. Good answer.” Stiles grins.  
"The dinner was amazing, but I had better be getting back to my friends. We need to discuss how we plan on going about this whole thing. Thank you for having me over." I say smiling. They both wrap me in a giant hug, and I force myself to not tense up. I think Stiles could still tell, as he ended the hug quickly. We say our final goodbyes and I walk out into the cool night.

I'm walking towards the small motel when I hear footsteps behind me. Without giving any outward signs, I start focusing my senses on the person behind me and the environment around me. I relax my body, ready for anything that might happen, but still appearing to have not noticed the person behind me. A brief thought flashes through my mind. Maybe whoever is behind me is just a normal person walking home. I ponder this briefly, but decide that even if it is, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Nonetheless, I palm a wolfs bane smoke bomb, and slow down ever so slightly. The person behind me is getting closer now. They're almost within arms reach. I cast my senses outward, trying to catch a hint of anyone else, but I don't hear anything, nor do I see anywhere someone can be hiding in front of me. Finally the person gets close enough to grab me. As soon as he does, there's a flurry of movement. I hear him move quickly, obviously trying to pin me against the wall next to me. I duck under his grasp, elbowing him in the gut. He's barely fazed by the hit, and quickly recovers. He lunges for me again, and I sprint forward, and step off the wall, flipping over my assailant, landing behind him. With a flick of the wrist, I have a wolfs bane laced knife in my hand, and I throw the man against the wall, putting the knife gently against the back his neck. As I pin him, I finally get a good look at the man.   
"What do you want, Derek?" I ask calmly. He growls in response. "Oh, come on. You're a big wolf, use your words." I lean in close, hissing in his ear.  
"What do you want with the Stilinski's?" He asks.  
"I just wanted to catch up, they invited me over for dinner." I answer easily.   
"Forgive me if I'm not convinced you have perfect intentions." He snarls.   
"Look, I don't want to cause trouble. I'm here to help with the Nemeton. It's an added bonus that I finally get to meet my family." I explain slowly.  
"But you're the Silver Wolf. You can't be a Stilinski. I don't know what you are, but I will find out."   
"Well, if I let you go, are you going to let me go to my motel room peacefully. I can and will incapacitate you painfully if you force me, but I'd rather just leave quietly." I say, ignoring his claims. He grunts in response to my question, but relaxes his body. I take it as a yes, and put the knife away, stepping back from the man. I hear another set of footsteps approaching from behind, and automatically send my knife flying, aiming to nick the approacher's ear. Quickly turning around, but still keenly aware of the wolf behind me, I see Peter Hale's startled face. My aim was true, and I see a small drip of blood coming from the edge of his ear. There wasn't enough wolfs bane on the knife to be lethal from that small of a cut, just enough to prevent it from healing at an accelerated rate. Peter carefully reaches a hand up to inspect the wound.   
"Well, it seems my nephew is brewing trouble yet again. Always charging in without thinking of what will happen. Honestly, Derek. Did you think you'd be able to take down the Silver Assassin on your own? She could kill you a hundred different ways, and you just charged in. It's a wonder you've survived this long." Peter says, reprimanding Derek. He's the one to watch out for. I note carefully.   
"Well, I don't want any trouble. I just want to help with the Nemeton. When the government starts noticing the effects of the supernatural, its time to deal with it, I think." I respond.   
"Oh, yes. We'd love you're help. So long as you don't kill us all." He says, voice laced with venom. I'm still acutely aware of Derek behind me, and this is not exactly the ideal position when dealing with possibly aggressive wolves. My instincts are yelling at me to attack, get the upper hand before they act, but I push it down. No good would come from being the aggressor in this situation. "After all, that's what you do, right? You destroy whatever you're pointed at, you kill whoever you're told to." His eyes flash blue, glaring needles at me. I force myself to give no outward sign that his words hurt. I wish I could go back and change what I did, I really do, but I can't.   
"Not anymore. I hate what I was, and everyday I try to make up for what I did, but I can't. Nothing I could ever do, no matter how many lives I save, no matter how many criminals I take down, I will never make up for what I did. But I'm still going to try. I'm not going to make excuses for what I did. But I have changed, I don't want to fight, I've always hated killing, hated taking lives." I watch carefully as Peter steps closer, feeling Derek behind me doing the same. "Look, I don't want a fight. I just want to help"  
"Well, that's a shame. I'd love a fight." His claws come out, and he lunges at me. I snap my wrist down, the smoke bomb exploding at my feet, and dive to the side. Even then, Peter's claws graze my arm, pain stinging my upper arm. I hesitate, the wolfs bane in the smoke is diluted, it won't kill them, but it'll knock them out for a few hours. I shouldn't just leave them hear, out on the street, unconscious. With a sigh, I decide what to do. Grunting, I lift Derek over my shoulders in a fireman's carry, and grab Peter, dragging him behind me as I walk back down the street.

I stood in front of the door, hesitating. How are they going to react to me at their door with two unconscious wolves? Shaking my head, I knock on the door. A woman opens the door. Her dark, curly hair is pulled back into a pony tail, and she’s wearing scrubs.   
“Uh, does Scott McCall live here?” I ask.  
“What do you want?” She asks, raising an eyebrow at me.  
“Well, he seems to have lost track of some things of his.” I tell her.  
“Oh, really?” She asks suspiciously.  
“Yes, really.” I step to the side, showing the two Hales lying unconscious behind me.  
“Scott!” She calls out, turning towards the stairs.  
“Mom, you know you don’t have to yell. I can hear you from upstairs.” He says, rushing down the stairs almost as soon as she calls his name.  
“Well, I’ve never had a werewolf son before, I’m sorry if I don’t quite know the best way to go about doing certain things.” She says, waving her arms and walking away.  
“So, uh, what did I lose track of?” His brows are furrowed in a perfect puppy dog look.  
“Your betas.” I say simply. “They’ll be out for maybe an hour, when they wake up make sure they drink lots of water. The wolfs bane they inhaled isn’t going to be lethal, but their throats will probably be rough as sandpaper when they wake up.” With that I turn and leave.  
“Hey, wait!” I ignore the young alpha in favor for continuing down the street. I can hear him running after me. I turn around. “Alpha McCall. I would highly suggest you go back to you house and take care of your betas. I would like to go back to my motel room and sleep, and I can confer with my comrades to find out the best way we can go about this, then we will come talk to you and your pack.” Before he can respond I turn back around and continue my quick pace. 

I sigh and flop down on the bed.  
"Oh my God! What happened? You're hurt!" Riley's shouts bring Mac and Jack rushing through the door.  
"Don't worry, its just a shallow scratch." I grumble.  
"Krystie, how did this happen?" Jack asks, looking me straight in the eye.  
"Look, I just had a small run in with the Hales, okay. Its nothing to worry about. They were just a but unsettled at the appearance of the Silver Wolf. We can't let this get in the way of the mission, so don't hold it against the pack. Or Derek. Granted, I would definitely keep an eye on Peter Hale. He's very... shady." I tell them, grabbing some bandages from my bag and quickly wrapping my wound.   
"How can you say 'don't hold it against them'?! Krystie, they hurt you!" Jack nearly yells.  
"How can you say they shouldn't hold my past against me? I've killed hundreds of werewolves." I rebut.   
"Kay, are you alright?" Mac asks softly.  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Its just been a really long night, I just wanna catch a few z's before tomorrow." I answer with a yawn.  
"Well, alright, we'll leave you to rest then." Mac grabs Jack, starting to drag him out of the room.  
"Wait, we should discuss what we're going to do tomorrow." I blurt before they get to the door.  
"We can discuss that in the morning." Jack says simply.  
"No, we should discuss it tonight." I argue. Jack looks at Mac, and Mac only shrugs in response, taking a seat on the bed.   
"Alright, so what's the plan?" Mac starts.  
"Well, originally I was going to say we should send Jack and Riley to go meet with the pack and see if you can help them research since its a weekend, but due to recent, er, 'hostile interactions' I think maybe Riley and Jack can spend some time coating Jack's bullets in a weak wolfs bane while we go talk to the Yukimuras." I suggest.  
"You want us to do what?" Riley asks carefully.  
"I want you to coat bullets with a special wolfs bane mix I've come up with. It isn't lethal, but it'll prevent a werewolf from healing quickly and hurt like hell. In the morning I'll show you guys the best way to coat the bullets, and then Mac and I will be off?" I ask, looking to Mac and Jack for approval.  
"That sounds like a plan." Mac nods.  
"Well, if you think that's necessary, I'll do it." Jack confirms.  
"Alright. Now, I'm going to bed." I say, pushing my duffle bag back under the bed. 

I find myself waking up to the sunrise again. I go through my morning routine, getting dressed, brushing my teeth and hair, and putting my weapons in their places. I finish quickly then slip outside. Once again I breathe in the cool, crisp air. I wonder what's happened between Mac and the Yukimuras. I ponder with a sigh. This is really the first time since the mission started that I've had time to just think. He didn't sound too thrilled when he found out that young kitsune was part of the pack. Whatever happened, it couldn't have been good. I frown at the thought. Well, I'm probably going to find out what happened when we go today, and if I don't its none of my business. I shake the thoughts from my head. I find myself staring out to the sunrise, enjoying the bright oranges and pinks that paint the sky.   
It's about seven-thirty when I start to hear activity inside the rooms. I walk back inside to find Riley rubbing the sleep from her eyes.   
"Morning." I say simply. I only get a grunt in reply. I hear some shuffling in the next room, and knock on the door softly.  
"Come in." Mac's voice is muffled through the door. I swing the door open gently to find both of the room's occupants ready for the day.   
"Once Riley's ready I'll go ahead and show you how to coat the bullets effectively and then Mac and I will go meet the Mrs. Yukimura." I announce. It's a few minutes before Riley's gone through her morning routine, but soon enough I've given the two my special wolfs bane mixture and shown them how to coat bullets. 

"So, is there anything I need to know before we go find this kitsune?" I find myself asking.   
"Yes." Mac responds curtly. I wait for a few moments, expecting a bit more of an explanation. The silenc continues for a few more streets.  
"Would you care to elaborate?" I finally ask.  
"I'm not sure." He says simply. I can't help but glare at him.  
"You aren't being very helpful right now, Mac." I grumble. I hear him give a resigned sigh.   
"I- I've never met her before, but my mom knew her." He starts carefully. Oh. "During World War II, Mrs. Yukimura was in an internment camp. There was a riot, and many of the inhabitants were killed. The government tried to cover it up, but my mom was one of the nurses there. She had been trying to help one of the people there, a werewolf who would have been killed if discovered. My mom discovered another supernatural creature residing in the camp. A kitsune, like her. The reason my mom found her out was because she was stealing supplies from the truck. anyway, when two soldiers were given the task of getting rid of the bodies, my mom followed them. The other kitsune, the one that was stealing, had been gravely injured, so much so that she appeared to be dead. My mom knew better though. As the men were starting to unload the bodies, my mom could sense a raging hatred coming from the younger kitsune, and somehow, my mom knew that the kitsune was about to call out for a Nogitsune to come to this world."   
"A nogitsune?" I interrupt. He glares at me. "Hey, I've been staying quiet this whole explanation. I'm only interrupting because I've never heard of a Nogitsune before, and it seems like a bit of a big part of all of this." I defend.  
"There are thirteen different types of kitsune. Kira, the fox in the pack is a thunder kitsune. Mrs. Yukimura seems like she'd be a celestial. The most dangerouse type of kitsune is the void kitsune. They feed off of pain, strife, and chaos. We call them Nogitsune." He explains briefly.   
"Oh. Okay. Continue." I try not to let on just how terrifying that explanation is. A creature that feeds off of chaos in this naturally chaotic world? It would be impossible to stop.  
"Well, in order to stop Mrs. Yukimura from summoning the Nogitsune, my mom killed the two soldiers and grabbed her from the pile of bodies, running away. If Mrs. Yukimura had succeeded in calling the Nogitsune..." Mac's voice trails off.   
"Yeah, okay. Great. So, that's why you don't like her? Because she almost called that Nogitsune for help?" I ask.  
"No. I mean, I'd hate her if she succeeded, but she wanted vengeance. As soon as she was able to walk, Mrs. Yukimura was headed back to the internment camp to kill all the staff, all the soldiers, anyone who wasn't a Japanese resident. My mom tried to stop her. Tried to reason with her, and prevent even more bloodshed. She let her guard down for a moment, and Mrs. Yukimura-" His voice catches, but I get the gist of what he's saying.   
"You don't have to go talk to her if you don't want to. I can easily handle her myself." I suggest. "You can go meet with the pack, see if you can help them research or something."  
"No. I want to give her a piece of my mind." My heart skips a beat at the hatred in his voice. It seems so wrong. I nod, and continue down the road to a small Japanese style house. I watch carefully as we knock on the door. It’s odd to see the barely hidden rage seethe beneath Mac’s skin. Something tells me I’m going to have to play the mediator in this conversation, and I’m not looking forward to it. A fairly young Japanese lady opens the door, but I know just because she looks young doesn’t mean she is young.   
“Mrs. Yukimura.” Mac says, bowing politely in greeting. “I’m Angus MacGyver.” The reaction is immediate. She tenses, eyes wide as she stares at Mac. She pushes past him and takes off.


	11. Chapter 11

Before I even register what I’m doing, my hand is reaching for a pouch and throwing it at the fleeing kitsune. As it flies through the air, the pouch opens, letting the mountain ash powder fly out, trapping Mrs. Yukimura in a circle of the magical powder.   
“Nicely done.” Mac nods.  
“Thanks.” I acknowledge, keeping my eyes on the kitsune. I don’t want to risk her getting away before we get a chance to talk.   
“What in the world is going on here?!” A man’s voice comes from the door behind us.   
“We’re just here to talk.” I answer simply.  
“Well, part of me wants to do a bit more than talk, but that would get us nowhere.” Mac grumbles. I ignore Mac’s comment.  
“If I let you out of there, are you going to run away, or can we have a nice, civilized talk?”   
“So long as your friend there can stay civilized, I won’t run away.” Mrs. Yukimura responds.  
“Now, you bolted before I even had a chance to do anything ‘uncivilized’, so forgive us if we don’t quite trust you when you say that.” Mac replies coolly.  
“We’re here to try to fix the Nemeton. We were wondering if you had any advice you could give on the subject. A kitsune who has lived as long as you surely has wisdom you could impart on us.” I tell her patiently.  
“Flattery will get you nowhere with me.” She replies testily.  
“Is it flattery if it was meant sincerely and truthfully?” I wonder aloud.  
“Yes.” Mrs. Yukimura answers curtly.  
“We have been researching, but with no avail.” The man answers.  
“Thank you Mr…” I trail off.   
“Yukimura.” He supplies. Hmmm. So she has a human husband? Or is he a supernatural? He doesn’t seem like he’d be a kitsune, or anything, but looks can be deceiving.  
“Ah. Thank you Mr. Yukimura.” I say.  
“She won’t run if you let her out.” He says. I shoot an asking glance to Mac. He nods his approval. I cautiously approach the caged fox.  
“I won’t bite.” She says, voice falsely sweet.  
“You better not.” I grumble, bending down to break the circle of mountain ash. As soon as I open the circle, I sense Mrs. Yukimura move. I throw myself forward, rolling under her now outstretched arm. I pop up from my roll with one of my hidden knives in my hand. “Now that was just rude! I let you out and you attacked me!” I pout.   
“Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.” She quotes.   
“So you’re the type of person who bites the hand that feeds them, noted.” I reply.  
“Well, you came with him, I couldn’t know for sure if you were here to exact revenge.” She defends.   
“Look, we said it before, we’re just here to talk.” Mac says carefully. Mrs. Yukimura glances at him warily, before sighing.  
“Well, go ahead and step inside, then we can have a more, comfortable conversation.” Mr. Yukimura says, beckoning us into their home.   
This is going to be anything but comfortable. 

I sit down carefully on the couch, watching Mac and Mrs. Yukimura enter a glaring contest. It’s like a staring contest, but about a hundred times more intense, and awkward to watch.   
“Uh, I’ll go fetch us some tea.” Mr. Yukimura says, retreating from the room. I shoot him an envious glance before clearing my throat. Both kitsunes’ heads snap towards me, and I find myself subject to both party’s glares. I fight the urge to shift uncomfortably.  
“I know your husband said earlier that you haven’t found anything substantial while researching the Nemeton, but could you tell us what you know about it?” I break the uncomfortable silence, but both glares stay firmly in place. I mentally facepalm. This is not going to be fun.  
“I doubt I know much more than what you would know, Silver Wolf.” She responds, voice laced with venom.  
“Humor me.” I say calmly.   
“The Nemeton is an ancient tree, it holds great amounts of magic. The magic in it was corrupted when a series of sacrifices were made at the foot of the tree, or its remains at least. The effects of such sacrifices would be irreversible without the aid of a creature of purity, such as a dragon.”  
“When was the last you saw, or heard of any creature of purity?” Mac asks, his words carefully spoken, devoid of any emotion. He doesn’t want to let on to just how angry he is right now. This was not a good idea at all.  
“A century ago.” An equally careful response was given. The two of them resume their glaring match, and I can’t help but let out a small sigh.  
“Tea’s all done.” Mr. Yukimura interrupts, placing a tray of tea carefully down between the two warring foxes.  
“Thank you, dear.” Mrs. Yukimura gives a tense smile to her husband, before pouring the tea for everyone. I find myself watching her actions very carefully, ensuring she doesn’t add anything extra to Mac’s or my own cups.   
“So, is there anything else we can help the two of you with?” Mr. Yukimura attempts to distract Mac and Mrs. Yukimura from starting yet another glaring war. When neither of them show any response to his question, Mr. Yukimura shoots me a questioning glance. I responed with a pained look back. My brain scrambles for a topic to try to start up.  
“Um, your daughter, Kira, is part of a werewolf pack. Well, I was wondering…” I find myself trailing off.  
“She is dating the alpha.” Mr. Yukimura states simply.  
“Ah.” Again, I find myself at a loss for how to get these two from simply glaring at each other. Finding no other way, I decide to dive right in.  
“You two are both over two-hundred-years-old! Will you please stop acting like two-year-olds and actually talk about what the heck is bothering you?” I basically yell. “Look, what you did was horrible.” I tell Mrs. Yukimura. “So the both of you need to stop pouting like you’re back to being toddlers and handle this situation like the adults you are!”  
“He is not an adult.” Mrs. Yukimura says haughtily. I can feel Mac tense next to me, but before he can respond, I butt in.  
“Maybe not compared to you, but he is older than both me and your husband combined, and one of the most mature people I know. And for the record, I know lots of kitsune much older than the both of you.” I scold. My reprimands were met with stony silence. I look to Mr. Yukimura for some help.  
“Look, I don’t know what happened between you two, but it seems to me that if you two are going to be able to even exist in the same town, you are going to have to address it eventually. Might as well do it sooner than later.” He speaks up. Eventually, Mac gives a sigh.  
“She helped you. She saved you! Why the hell did you kill her? She stopped you from making the biggest mistake of your life, and you just killed her!” Mac’s voice is a low whisper, but even to me, without super hearing, it seems like a shout, with all the emphasis and emotion it carries.  
“My people were dying. My friends, and family, and everyone I loved were dying of pneumonia, and the people who were selling the medicine they needed were getting away with it! I was watching everyone I cared about die! And then, when they couldn’t take it anymore, they were all mowed down, killed. Then, to rub salt in the wound, it was all covered up. The only punishment those two soldiers, the ones who sold the medicine we so desperately needed, was a slap on the wrist and the task of burning all the bodies. Including my body, and that of my lover.” I wince at the casual mention of a previous lover in front of her own husband, and see a well-covered look of hurt in Mr. Yukimura’s eyes.   
“But why did you kill her?! She didn’t do anything wrong! She didn’t deserve to die. I’m not even going to argue that some the others didn’t, but why did you kill her?!” Mac stood up, yelling.  
“I was trying to get justice for those I loved. She stood in the way.” Mrs. Yukimura defended.  
“That’s because you were going to kill them all. Even the ones who didn’t know anything about what happened. Even the ones who were doing the best they could to help you all, to treat you, even when they didn’t have the proper equipment. There were people there who were volunteering, who were just trying to do the right thing and help their fellow people! She was defending the innocent from a rampaging beast. Can you look me in the eye and say that every one of those people stationed at that camp deserved to die? Can you tell me that my mother was not defending innocent civilians from your blade?” Mac’s voice dropped to a whisper at the word ‘mother’. Mrs. Yukimura’s eyes flashed with guilt as she looked down.  
“She should not have gotten in my way.” She defends quietly.  
“GOTTEN IN THE WAY?! She stopped you from calling a goddamned nogitsune into the world. She saved you from being burned alive! The least you could have done was hear her out, to listen to her reasoning! Instead, the thanks you gave her was a sword straight through her neck! She shouldn’t have SAVED YOUR LIFE!” Mac yelled, storming out of the house. In response, Mrs. Yukimura practically snarled, rushing back to god knows where in the house, leaving me and a very confused and stunned Mr. Yukimura in her wake.   
“Umm, I should probably go check on my friend.” I gesture to the still open door. “But here,” I take out a pen and scribble my cell number on a napkin, “you can call me if she doesn’t tell you the story, or if you just want to compare both sides of the story, heck, even if you just want someone to rant to about how frustrating it is to be dealing with angry kitsune. But, yeah… I really need to go catch up with him. Really sorry about the inconvenience.” I shove the napkin at him before rushing out after Mac. By the time I get out to the street, Mac’s long gone. On a whim, I set out in the opposite direction from the motel, figuring the last thing Mac would want to do right now is be mother-henned by Jack and Riley.

After a bit of wandering, I finally track down Mac. He’s standing at the edge of the preserve, his back to me. I walk towards him, ignoring the sniffling coming from him, and sit down on a rock about ten feet away. He completely ignores me. It’s about ten minutes before he finally says something.  
“Don’t tell Jack or Riley about what happened. Please.” I know that he’s talking about what Mrs. Yukimura did to his mother, but I try to lighten the mood.  
“Come on, I don’t think they’d doubt your masculinity just because you shed a few tears.” I give a small grin. He chuckles a bit, before quieting down. I decide to count that as a small win. “But yeah, don’t worry. My lips are sealed, until you want them to be unsealed. Just promise me you’ll tell them eventually, okay?” I ask.  
“Deal.” He nods.   
“Alright. Let’s go make sure Riley and Jack haven’t gotten into any trouble since we left, shall we?” I suggest, jumping to my feet.  
“Knowing them, they managed to blow up the motel room or something.” Mac jokes. 

We had walked at a leisurely pace to the motel, or at least to where the motel had once been. We stood, observing the smoldering ruins that had once been a motel.  
“Aww, come on. I was only joking.” Mac complained. I could tell the joke was his attempt at hiding the worry that was undoubtedly crawling around in his mind, the same way it was in mine.   
“You call Jack and Riley to find out what happened, I’m going to go see if I can salvage any of my stuff. Need me to get anything from your room?” I ask quietly. I purposely find myself telling him to call to ‘find out what happened’ rather than ‘find out if they’re okay’. I don’t want to even consider the possibilities of them being hurt. Or worse.   
“No, nothing vital. By the looks of it, the bomb went off from Jack’s and my room, it’s unlikely anything of ours survived, but your bed might’ve protected your stuff, considering it was the furthest from the blast.” Mac murmurs absentmindedly while he dials Jack’s phone. I motion for him to go away before any sirens come, while quickly making my way up the wrecked stairs. I take in the charred remains of the room we were in, before checking under my bed. The floor under it is barely singed, but there’s no duffle bag in sight. I give a sigh of relief. That means there is a good chance that Jack and Riley got out alive, probably unharmed. I make a quick scan of the room, but see no signs of the bag anywhere. I hear the sirens in the distance, and I forgo the stairs, jumping straight from the balcony to the parking lot before, landing with at roll before sprinting off in the direction I saw Mac heading while he was calling Jack’s phone.   
I catch up to him sitting in a diner about a mile away, tapping his phone nervously. He straightens up as he catches sight of me. I slide into the booth, sitting opposite him.  
“No answers from either of them.” He says worriedly.  
“Well, despite the floor being almost untouched under my bed, there was no sign of my bag. Nor was it anywhere else in the room. Since they were working on the bullets, it would have been easy for them to grab the bag and get out. Maybe not quite as easy to grab their phones if they were left charging.” Mac give a sigh of relief at the news.   
“Who would want to bomb our room? Could it have been those two wolves that attacked you last night? The Hales?” He suggests, but I quickly shake my head.   
“I doubt they’d go to such great lengths to try to get at me, besides, setting off a bomb would probably hit a bit too close to home, what with the Hale house fire.” I dismiss the idea. “That, and I don’t think they’d have access to bombs or explosives.”   
“Then who could it be? It couldn’t have been coincidence that it was placed right in our room.” Mac reasons.  
“I don’t know, But I’m sure we’ll find out sooner or later.” I grumble.

Turns out that when Jack discovered the bomb in their room, Riley grabbed her rig, then my bag, and they hightailed it out of there. With her computer, it was easy for Riley to track Mac’s phone and meet us at the café as we were debating our next move.   
“Yeah, I just went into the room to check my phone’s charge, and it was just sitting there. Right on the bed, red numbers counting down on the timer, so I shouted at Riley to get out, and we got as far away as we could before the blast went off. We didn’t exactly stick around for the fire department to questions us.” Jack confirmed our suspicions.   
“So, how did someone manage to sneak into your guys’ room without you or Riley noticing in the next room over?” I think aloud.  
“And how did we not hear the bomb go off?” Mac adds.   
“That’s right. There were still flames when we got there, the bomb couldn’t have gone off more than a few minutes before we got there, but we didn’t hear the blast or feel anything.”  
“Well, there definitely was a blast, according to the fact that my ears were ringing up until about five minutes ago, and the bruise on my shoulder says there was a shockwave too.” Riley complains.   
“A witch maybe? They could’ve used a silencing spell to be able to sneak into the room and then some sort of barrier to contain the blast.” I suggest.  
“Doesn’t necessarily have to be a witch though. Anything with a decent repertoire of spells could have done those things.” Mac counters.  
“Fair enough. So, it could be anything I’ve pissed off in the number of years I was, you know, the Silver Wolf.” I put that out there.   
“There’s got to be a way to narrow it down somehow.” Jack says.  
“No, Jack, not really. Any sentient creature that’s even dipped it’s toe in magic could have done that, and there’s a great number of those in the supernatural world. And the Silver Wolf made lots of enemies. First off, we need to find a place to lay low for a while, while we figure out what to do.” Mac says.  
“I may have a place. Keep in mind, it won’t be comfortable for four people, but it will be doable.” I tell them.  
“Doable is good. I like doable.” Jack nods.

I carefully unlock the door, disarming the tripwire with practiced hands. Once that’s done, I gather up the mountain ash dust blocking off the door, replacing what I can in a glass jar near the door. I open the door the rest of the way, letting everyone else into my little safe house. They take in the small one bedroom apartment.  
“Welcome to my wonderful little hideout. I suggest you make yourself comfortable for now. I figure later I’ll go over to the Stilinski’s and see if the Sheriff has any information we can use to figure out what’s targeting us. Until then, this place is bordered by protection runes, as well as a special alarm rune I rigged up that should give a warning of anyone within a mile with ill-intent.” I brief them on the securities.   
“No cameras or alarm systems?” Riley asks.   
“Well, this was supposed to be a supernatural safe house, so just the normal apartment cameras and the rune alarm system.” I explain. “By the way, did you guys finish coating Jack’s bullets with the wolfs bane I gave you?”   
“Yeah. All of them.” Jack nods.  
“Good. We might end up needing them a lot sooner than I anticipated. Riley, make sure to keep all the zippers open on my bag, so Mac can have full access to pretty much whatever’s inside it. There are a couple containers made of mountain ash that should not be opened under any circumstances, so if Mac can’t open a container, don’t open it. Trust me.” I say. I look out the small window to see that the sun is setting currently. “I’ll give it an hour, then head over the Stilinski household.”   
“Hey. You sure you should be going out tonight? I mean, it is a full moon tonight.” Mac reminds. I grimace. I completely forgot.  
“I should be fine. I can hold my own, and when I went over for dinner it looked like they had replaced all the floorboards and window frames with mountain ash.” I reassured Mac. He still looks worried, but doesn’t protest. “Help yourself to whatever’s in the cabinets, they should all be fine to eat, I try to keep this place stocked.”

For the second night in a row I find myself knocking on the door of my biological’s family’s door. The door is thrown open, and before I can say anything I’m wrapped in an enormous hug.  
“When I heard about the explosion, I thought you’d…” John’s voice trails off.  
“Please, I’m a lot harder to kill than that. But still, I think we shouldn’t linger with the door open for long.” I say quietly. He nods, and lets me step inside before pulling the door shut and locking the door securely.   
“Dad, who was it?” Stiles’ voice calls from his room.  
“It’s your sister. I’ve come back from the dead to haunt your sorry ass.” I find myself joking. I hear a loud thud, and scrambling as I assume Stiles tripped in his rush to get out here. I chuckle to myself, and prepare to be tackled. I was right to prepare, for as soon as Stiles sees me, he practically launces himself at me.  
“I knew you were okay.” He says.  
“Yes, that explains why you’re hugging me like you thought you’d never see me again.” I say, a small smile lingering on my face.   
“Fine, fine. I was a little worried. But your room was destroyed! We had no way of contacting you to see if you were okay. What happened? Where are the rest of your friends? Was it really a gas explosion?”   
“Stiles, how many times do I have to remind you? One question at a time.” John scolds, yet again.  
“Dad, its fine, Kay has proven she can keep up.” I can’t help but chuckle.   
“Well, Mac and I went out to go ask Mrs. Yukimura some questions, and when we came back to the motel room it was a charred mess. Later we met up with Jack and Riley, who said that someone had snuck a bomb into one room while they had been working in another. They managed to get out in time, but we don’t know who, or what did it. We were hoping maybe you guys had heard anything we could use to figure out who’s targeting us. The only thing we could narrow down was that it had to be something that could cast rudimentary spells, and had access to explosives. I think Mac was planning on inspecting the bomb site tomorrow once all the activity has died down.”  
“What’s he gonna look for, a diary that was dropped by the person who planted the bomb explaining exactly what they did?” Stiles snorts.  
“Well, considering he worked as an EOD specialist in the army, I think he can learn a lot by visiting the bomb site.” I answer.  
“Awww, come on! That’s so cool.” He complains. I just roll my eyes. I turn back to John.  
“So, do you have any info on the explosion?” I ask.  
“Unfortunately, not yet. If you give me your number, I can give you a call as soon as I do though. Then we can catch up at any time.” He winks.  
“Well, yeah, it would work for the former, but not for the latter. We tend to, uh, burn through phones.” I say, thinking back to every time Jack and I have heard those dreaded words. ‘Hey, give me your phone’. “But, yeah, I can give you my current number.” I confirm, writing it out on a piece of paper.  
“So, you went to talk to Mrs. Yukimura?” Stiles asks, none too happily.  
“Yeah, do you have a history with her?” I find myself asking.  
“No, not exactly. I just have the feeling I’m not too high on her priority list.” He mutters.  
“Higher than Mac.” I find myself muttering under my breath.  
“What? Remember, no werewolf hearing.” He says.  
“Exactly.” I wink. “I doubt you’re the lowest on her ‘priority list’. You know, with a group of complete strangers and the Silver Wolf in town.”  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Stiles says.  
“Hey, since its, you know, the full moon and all, do you think I can bunk here for the night?” I ask, eyes flitting to the window where the said moon is in full view.   
“The pack doesn’t run rampant on full moons. Anymore.” Stiles comforts.  
“Yeah, but if whatever bombed our motel room is a were creature…” I start.  
“Right.” Stiles says simply.  
“Feel free. We, uh we don’t exactly have a guest room, but if you don’t mind we can set you up on the couch.” John offers.  
“The couch is fine.” I smile graciously. I send a quick text to Mac telling him I’m staying here for the night.


	12. Chapter 12

“So, what kind of books do you read?” Stiles whispers, sitting on the opposite side of the couch. In between us sits a small battery powered lantern. Rarely ever do I sleep on a full moon, a habit founded by the fact that you tend to feel incredibly vulnerable sleeping on a night when were creatures run rampant. Around twelve in the night, Stiles crept out of his room and just sat down on the couch, turning on a small little lamp and plopped it down between us.  
“Well, when I get the chance, I’m either reading Mac’s old physics and chemistry textbooks, or I’m reading some adventure books from the library.” I answer in a whisper. He makes a face when I mention the textbooks, but his face lights up when I tell him I read adventure.  
“Ah, cool! I love adventure. That’s what I read when I’m not searching through dusty old tomes…” He says. “Alright, your turn.”  
“Ummmm.” My brain scrambles for a question to ask. “Favorite food?” I ask the first thing that comes to my mind.  
“Oh, that’s easy, curly fries. What about you?” He answers quickly.  
“I really like my friend Bozer’s waffles. He is the best cook ever. His waffles are heavenly.” I smile at the thought of our friend back in Los Angeles.  
“Your friend sounds amazing.” Stiles says.  
“Yeah, he is.” I nod.  
“So, uh, do you mind me asking why you aren’t sleeping right now?” Stiles starts carefully.  
“No. It’s just become a habit over the years, ya know? I mean, I just never liked sleeping when I knew there were people who hate me running wild, with enhanced emotions and strength, on a full moon. That is why I’m not asleep.” I tell him. “What about you?”  
“Oh. I just couldn’t sleep because I had a bunch of questions I wanted to ask you.” He said simply. I chuckle. “Besides, we’ve got, like, seventeen years to catch up on, and tomorrow’s a Sunday.”  
“Fair enough.” I shrug.  
“So…” He starts slowly. “Do you think I can ask you about, maybe, some more, uh, personal stuff?”  
“Only as long as it isn’t about classified information, I’m an open book.” I smile.  
“Heh.” He snorts. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind. So, how many times have you almost died?” I raise my eyebrow at the question.  
“Well, too many to count when I was under the, uh, employment of the Goblin King, and now that I work for the government? Much, much more.” I shrug. “You?”  
“Well, it happens every other day, so I stopped counting…” He grins.   
“So, Scott, the true alpha, he’s your friend?” I start  
“Yeah, my best friend. I’ve known him since we were four.” Stiles smiles, obviously thinking about his friend.  
“That sounds amazing.” I can only imagine what it would be like to have grown up with a friend, someone you can count on to be there your whole life.   
“Did you have anyone like that? You know, someone you could trust?” It’s like he could read my mind.  
“Depends on what you mean by trust. Did I have someone I would be willing to let watch my back, yeah, I did. Did I have someone I could expect to be there every day, one I could count on to always come back from a mission, or survive the latest ‘disciplining’, no. Never.” I push back all the faces of my comrades, on the brink of death.  
“Can you tell me about the people you were, uh, ‘willing to let watch your back’?” Stiles asks quietly.  
“Yeah, sure. I’ll be frank, there weren’t that many. There was really only my pack and then my mentor.” I start.  
“Hey, I wanna hear about your pack.” Stiles decided.  
“What about them?” I give him a small smile to hide the stab of pain that even the thought brings. Though the wound they made might have scabbed over, it still aches in my very being.   
“Well, what were they like? You said that you could trust them, but how much does that mean when you’ve lived life as an assassin?” Stiles rambles, flailing his arms around, as usual.  
“It means a hell of a lot, to be able to trust someone when you’re an assassin. In a world full of backstabbing and lying, being able to trust someone more than a luxury, because if you trust the wrong person, you’ll end up dead.” I watch his face transform to shock. “They were the closest thing I had to friends, but I wouldn’t call them that. They weren’t family either. They were just people I could trust to watch my back, people I could let my guard down around a bit.” A look flashes across his face, it’s not quite pity, nor is it horror. If anything, it looks like compassion, but I’ve never been good at identifying the positive emotions on the human face. It’s not an emotion I’ve ever really gotten to see when directed at me. “There isn’t much to tell about the pack, they were people, barely, and we worked together. I thought I could count on them to watch my back, and watch their own lives. Turns out I was right on the former, but not the latter.” I attempted a weak grin. I may not be good at reading people, but I can tell he doesn’t buy it.   
“Why… How?” He stutters. “I mean- I-“ It’s the first time I’ve seen him truly at a loss for words. “How are you alive?” He finally whispers, I watch as tears well up in his eyes.  
“To be honest, I’m not quite sure.” I whisper back.

Once again, I find myself watching the sunrise, except this time it’s through a window. Stile’s soft snores comes from the couch behind me. I quickly shoot a text to Mac; ‘Fine over here, you?’.  
‘All quiet over here too.’ Mac texts back. I give a small sigh of relief. Good, good.  
‘How are Jack and Riley holdin up?’ I find myself asking. It takes me ten minutes to realize something is wrong, because he should have replied by now, WHY HASN’T HE REPLIED?  
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” I all but yell.   
“Huh?!” Stiles shoots up, flailing a bit, but I barely notice.   
“I gotta go, I gotta find out what’s going on.” I say, sprinting to the door.   
“Hey, wait!” He yells.  
“NO! I can’t!” I yell, throwing the door open.  
“DAD! We’re going!” I hear Stiles yell, before his footsteps follow me. “Kay, what is going on.  
“I texted Mac, he hasn’t replied yet.” I say.  
“Well, maybe he’s asleep, like any normal person would be!” Stiles grumbles.   
“Well, considering he responded the first time, I highly doubt that. Somethings wrong, I have to go check the safe house and find out what’s going on. I should have never left them!” I growl. I knew something was going on, and I just left them alone! I shake my head. I couldn’t have known something was going to happen, I just need to figure out what to do next.  
“Shit.” Is all he says.

I sprint all the way to my safe house, never stopping even for a moment. When I get to the room, the door is splintered open. I freeze, taking the slightest moment to get my breathing and heart under control. With a flick of the wrist, I’ve got a wolfs bane knife in my hand, and I’m through the doorway, eyes darting back and forth, taking in the whole room. The room is trashed, and I don’t see or smell any blood, which is a reassuring sign. My eyes are drawn to the limp form of Jack at the foot of couch. A quick scan shows that he’s in no danger, with no major injuries, so I continue on to the bedroom. The next room is also in shambles, and Riley is slumped over the bed. Once again, a quick scan shows she does not need immediate attention, so I cast my eyes around the room. I can see that the rune alarm system has been triggered. There’s also no sign of Mac. I walk over to Riley, and inspect her, trying to see if I can figure out what happened.  
“Kay, is everything alright?” I jump as Stile’s voice calls out from the door. I shake my head at my inattentiveness.  
“No, not really.” I sigh. I hear him walk into the apartment. “Riley, hey, Riley. Wake up.” I shake her gently. She groans as her eye blink open. “Are you okay?” I ask.  
“Uh, I think. I have a giant headache.” She grumbles.   
“Alright, stay awake and stay right there. I need to check on Jack.” I tell her. She nods, and I walk back into the other room. I find Stiles looking around, wide-eyed. For the moment, I ignore him in favor for checking on Jack. I shake him gently. “Jack, you okay? You gotta wake up, Jack.” Unlike Riley, he doesn’t stir. I sigh. I quickly draw a breath, “JACK!” I yell. Stiles jumps behind me, and Jack jerks awake.  
“MAC!” He shouts.   
“Jack, are you alright? What happened?” I ask him.   
“Uh, you left to check with the sheriff for info on the explosion, and we started settling in for the night. Mac and I took shifts to watch throughout the night. This morning, Mac shouted, saying something is coming, and almost immediately the door was kicked in. A blur came at me, and I guess it knocked me out. And now we’re here.”  
“Shit.” I say, once again. “Mac’s gone, but Riley’s in the bedroom.” He jumps to his feet at my words but he sways, before shaking his head.   
“We’ve gotta go find him, Krystie!” He yells.  
“Woah, Jack. You can barely stand. You’re not going anywhere.” I push him down onto the couch.   
“I got this, okay. I will get him back. I need to know what happened though.” I say.  
“No, I can come with you. I’ll be find.” Jack mumbles half-heartedly. I don’t bother explaining exactly why he shouldn’t. At this point, he’s just arguing to keep himself from worrying.   
“Stiles, you see anything that can help identify what’s going on?” I say, taking a bit more of an in-depth look around the room.  
“Kay, last night was a full moon, it could be any number of things.” He says, brow furrowing.  
“No, the fact that last night was a full moon, that’s what’s gonna help us narrow it down. Look closely, there’s no claw marks, and Jack and Riley were knocked out, not mauled. I couldn’t have been something that goes crazy on the full moon. I also highly doubt that the fact that my safe house and my friends have been targeted. I think it would be safe to assume that this would be the same person that planted the bomb at the motel.”  
“So, what do we do now?” Riley asks, walking into the room. I glare at her for a moment, for not staying in the other room, before gently pushing her down onto the couch next to Jack.  
“Stiles, think you can get some wolves here to try to track, or identify whatever came here?” I look to him.  
“Yeah, yeah. I can do that.” He nods, taking out his phone and walking out the door.  
“You know, you don’t have to walk out to make that phone call… We’re not wolves.” I grumble. I can still hear his voice outside in the hall. Jack chuckles. “So, how are you two doing?” I ask the two of them.   
“Bit of a headache, but I’ll be fine.” Jack grins.   
“Same here.” Riley nods.  
“Okay, just sit tight, wait a bit to make sure nothing gets worse-“ A quiet beep comes from behind me, turning around, my eyes catch on a glowing rune on the wall. “STILES!” I throw the door open, and all I see is Stiles’ phone laying on the ground.  
“STILES! STILES!” I pick up the phone to hear Scott yelling for his friend.  
“Get here now, we need to track him while we still can. Whatever took him is fast.” I rattle off the address and hang up. Suddenly my phone starts ringing.  
“Hey, John here, you and Stiles left in such a hurry, I figured I’d give you some time to get to where you needed to be and to deal with what came up.” My heart skips a beat.  
“Something broke into the safe house.” I start, choosing my words. “We came to check it out. Turns out my safe house wasn’t so safe. One of my friends is gone… And something just took Stiles right out from under my nose.” I growl. “Scott is on his way right now to see if he can get a scent, and I’m about to start gearing up.” Its silent for a moment, before John says anything.  
“Where are you, I’m coming over.” There’s a determination in his voice that I’ve only heard in Jack’s when Mac is in trouble. But there’s so much more. I rattle off the address again, and John hangs up. I quickly head to my bag, grabbing my weapons. I don’t bother hiding them, wearing them in easy reach.  
“Kay, you look like you’re getting ready for war.” Riley says, worried.  
“When supernatural things start messing with my family, they are declaring war on the Silver Wolf.” I dig to the bottom of my bag, pulling out a large, flat mountain ash box. Opening it, I find a white, Japanese style wolf mask snarling at me.

Within seconds. I have the bone white arm and shin guards on, over my black shirt and jeans. I grab some wolfs bane containers, placing them on the counter when Scott and John rush into the room.   
“What happened?!” They ask simultaneously.   
“He was taken right outside in the hallway.” I nod my head toward the door. “This morning I texted Mac, and the second time, he didn’t respond. I rushed over here, and Stiles followed me. About ten minutes ago, Stiles was taken.” Scott heads out, hopefully to try to catch a trail.  
“What do we do now?” John asks. I barely catch the waver in his voice, the barely contained terror. If I wasn’t determined to find them before, I definitely was now.  
“While Scott gets the trail, I need to get some stuff ready. I have a feeling that whatever took Mac and Stiles is trying to get at me, so I need to get some stuff ready.” I tell him. “Hey Scott, stay out there, I’m going to be dealing with wolfs bane, okay?” Once he gives me confirmation, I uncap the wolfs bane containers. I root through my cabinets, finding the sugar in the kitchen, and some stump remover, ironically, in the bathroom for some reason.   
“What are you doing?” John asks.  
“What Mac usually does.” I say. I grab a pan and turn the stove on, starting to heat the pan up.   
“See Riley, what’d I tell you?! When you work with MacGyver, he starts to rub off on you.” Jack says, nudging the young woman. “What you making, girl?” I roll my eyes at Jack’s antics.   
“Wolfs bane smoke grenades.” I tell him.   
“Ooooh, yeah. Now THAT’s what I’m talking about.” Jack smirks. I grab some printer paper, and wrap it around a broom handle, taping it into a tube. Sliding my tube off the broom, I repeat the process two times, and cut each of the tubes into three pieces. I put a ton of tape on the bottoms of each of the tubes, closing off one end. Now comes the fun part. Making the fuses. I grab some tissue paper and we down the counter with a damp sponge, before laying the tissue paper on it.   
“Jack, I’m gonna need some gun powder.” I tell him.   
“Of course you do.” He grumbles. I quickly show him how to roll the fuses up, and I check to make sure the pan is heated up. I quickly measure out the sugar and the stump remover into paper cups, before mixing them together, along with a lot of wolfs bane.   
“Now, hold on, are you going to explain just how you’re making smoke grenades in your kitchen?” John asks.   
“Umm.” I say, carefully pouring the mixture into the pan. “I don’t exactly have potassium chlorate, so I’m using sugar, and mixing it with the potassium nitrate in the stump remover. When the sugar caramelizes, it will create a solid-state rocket fuel. I can pour that into the tubes, and then insert the fuses Jack is making, and there you have it, homemade smoke grenades. The wolfs bane I’ve mixed into it should help me get Stiles and Mac back easily, once we find out where they are. Oh, I would probably leave this part of the rescue mission out when you tell Stiles, he’s gonna pester me for the recipe, and I don’t think you want him to know how to make rocket fuel.” I continue stirring the mixture, until it resembles peanut butter. I grin at John. “So, enjoying arts and crafts with your daughter?” I carefully pour the mixtures into the tubes of paper, and insert the fuses while they are still liquids. Now, I just pop them into the fridge for a few minutes to harden up, then they’re good to go.  
“I’ve never seen Mac do this.” Jack says.  
“Oh. He lent me his chemistry books. He has some fascinating notes in the margins.” I wink at Jack. “Scott, how’s it going?” I call out.  
“It’s confusing. I don’t understand. I smell a rotting corpse, but it’s almost moving too fast to track. I called Derek over, he’s better at this stuff.” Scott says, the puppy dog look returning in full force. “You never explained why you turned up at my doorstep with those two unconscious, by the way.”  
“You WHAT?!” John yells.  
“Hmm. Rotting corpse?” I hide the chill that runs down my spine. Vengeful and undead? Sounds like a revenant.   
“Those two idiots attacked her on her way home.” I glare at Jack.  
“They were worried when the Silver Wolf showed up in Beacon Hills. I simply took them out in as harmless a way as I could. Those, however,” I nod towards the fridge, “will be very deadly, so you wolves will have to stay back.” I say.   
“But us humans will be fine?” Riley asks.   
“You are not coming, little missy.” Jack says, picking up a scolding tone.   
“I think it would be best if just myself went into the building.” Both John and Jack take a breath to protest, but I stop them before they can say anything. “I’ve been trained as an assassin since I could walk. I can sneak in easily with the smoke, and I’m the most experienced with the supernatural. This is my element. I can get in, eliminate the threat, and get Stiles and Mac quickly. Besides, I have armor, and a mask.”   
“I am coming. That’s why you had me coat my bullets with wolfs bane, right? Wait, the wolfs bane smoke isn’t going to hurt Mac, is it?”   
“No, wolfs bane doesn’t affect kitsune much. At the worst, he’ll have a bit of a headache and a scratchy throat.” Scott answers. I hang my mask on my belt for now. Soon Derek is at the safe house, glaring at me. I roll my eyes.   
“If Stiles gets hurt because of you, I will rip your throat out. With my teeth.” He growls.   
“Well, a) I won’t let this bastard hurt Stiles; b) you try anything of the sort, I will rip your heart out. With my sword.” I pull out a short sword from my duffle bag, before strapping it to my back. “Now, let’s go get our friends.”


	13. Chapter 13

Derek keeps glancing carefully back at me. Honestly, it’s getting annoying. I’m not about to kill him or anything. I’m following him through the woods, with Scott, Jack, and John. In the end, there was no way to convince the two not to come.   
“Scott was right when he said there was a rotten corpse smell. We’re going to be facing something undead.” Derek grumbles.   
“Does that narrow it down much?” John asks.  
“Not by much.” Derek says. I grin.  
“We’re facing a revenant. Probably someone I’ve killed. Revenants are undead creatures that have come back to seek revenge on the person who killed them, often terrorizing towns until the one who wronged them are brought to justice.”  
“Can they be killed?” Jack asks.  
“No.” Derek and I say, him with his now signature grumble, and me with a grin.  
“What?” John asks.  
“Don’t worry, I won’t let that stop me.” I tell them. “But really, you guys shouldn’t come in. No offense, but you’ll be a hinder in a fight. Neither of you are well versed in fighting the supernatural, and revenants have enhanced speed and strength. Often times they also have great affinities for magic.” I try once more.  
“Krystie, it’s my job to protect Mac, I’m coming in.” Jack scolds.  
“Stiles is my son, I’m not going to just stand by and watch as he’s in danger.” John says at the same time. I give a sigh.  
“Fine. Just don’t get killed.” I grumble.   
“We’re almost there.” Derek warns. I nod, slipping my mask on.   
“Now, remember, Derek. Stay out of the fight. I’ll be setting off some wolfs bane smoke grenades, and you’ve already had a taste of my diluted wolfs bane. You don’t want to try the enhanced stuff.” I warn the wolf. He grunts in response. I notice John’s hand creeping towards his holster. “So, John…” I start casually. “You got wolfs bane bullets?”   
“Yeah. Argent gave me them after the encounter with the Darach.” His voice is tight with nerves.   
“Cool. Still, you guys get Stiles and Mac, I’ll see if I can’t distract the revenant and any help he has.”   
“Fine by me. That won’t stop me from taking down anything in our way, though.” Jack says, checking his handgun.  
“Just, be careful, alright?” I say. We come up on a line of mountain ash. “And here we are.” I smile under the mask. “Let’s get this party started.” John bends down to break the line of mountain ash, but I catch his hand. “There are ways of rigging a line of mountain ash to give an alarm when its broken. We’ll wait until we’re on our way out to break it.” He nods in response, both him and Jack un-holstering their weapons.   
“Ready.” Jack nods.  
“Ready.” John says.  
“Let’s go.” I reply, sprinting forward, lighter in hand. I light the fuse on one of the grenades and drop it, before lighting another one and throwing it forward. I catch sight of a fire pit to the right. I motion for Jack to head to the left away from the main campsite. Slowing down, I soften my footsteps before slowly approaching the fire pit. Scanning the environment for traps, I keep all my sense on alert. I keep track of John and Jack’s footsteps, heading off. I light another grenade and toss it down. I hear coughing, and gasping ahead of me, and I crouch down, unsheathing my sword. The slight whisper of the metal is covered by the hissing of the grenade. Crouching, I sneak forward, circling around to the right of where the coughing is coming from. Through the smoke, I make out a figure, hunched over. It’s obviously the person coughing and gasping. Before the hunched over figure is two other figures, laying on the ground, tied up. One of the tied-up figures is squirming around, but the other is oddly still. I bite back a growl in my throat. I carefully creep forward, closer to the hunched figure. When I’m about five feet away, I lunge straight for them. My sword cuts cleanly through the person’s neck, and the squirming figure lets out a muffled yell. As the smoke dissipates, I see that the squirming figure is Stiles, and Mac is the still one. I note the subtle rise and fall of Mac’s chest, and I give a sigh of relief.   
“Shhh. It’s okay. It’s just me, Stiles. It’s just me.” I say. Reaching slowly towards him so I don’t startle him, I untie his gag as he calms down.  
“How did you find us? Where’d the smoke come from? Where’s my dad?” Stile gasps. I quickly undo the knots around his wrists and ankle.   
“Undo Mac for me, will you? I’ll check him over once I take a look at the headless horseman over here.” I tell him. He nods, and starts undoing the knots with shaking hands. “Derek tracked your scents, the smoke is from wolfs bane smoke grenades, and your dad is with Jack, the three of us came looking for you guys.” I turn around to come face-to-face with a half-rotten face. Instinctively, I duck, and not a moment too soon. His claws cut the ends of my hair. I roll to the side, quickly popping up with my sword ready. As I do this, I finally get a good look at the abductor. Even half decayed, I can easily recognize the face. My eyes widen.  
“Well, well, well. You sure enjoy beheading me, don’t you, little girl?” Cameron Tamar give a lopsided grin Well, maybe it was intended to be a full grin, but half of his face was missing, showing the bone under it. His voice is gravelly, whether that is a result of the wolfs bane smoke, or degraded vocal chords, I have no idea. My heart skips a beat, and I barely register the next swipe of claws. I bring my arm up to block it, grabbing a knife with my other hand and digging it into his exposed rib cage. He lets out a loud roar, and I jump back from a retaliating punch. His eyes glow a sickly yellow. I watch as his face shifts into that of a werewolf. I give my own, very human, growl back.   
‘BLAM! BLAM!’ Two gunshots ring out through the campsite, and Tamar’s head explodes. His body falls limp once again.   
“Fire! Burn his body!” I yell. Already, I can see his body reforming. Jack and John grab Tamar’s legs and drag him to the fire. As they do that, I kneel by Mac. There seems to be lightning-like scars running up and down his neck and back. His vitals seem stable, he’s breathing easily, and his heart is steady, but I can’t hold back a growl.   
“What’s wrong with him? Why is he unconscious?” Jack yells.  
“Letharia Vulpina: Wolf lichen. It should wear off soon, but we should get him out of this smoke. Stiles, are you okay?” I say.   
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Is he going to be okay?” Stiles worries.   
“He just needs rest. Wolf lichen isn’t going to be fatal to a two-tailed kitsune. We just need to get him somewhere safe to rest up.” I say simply. Jack gathers Mac in his arms.   
“We can take him to the Yukimura’s. They will probably know how to treat him.” Stiles suggest. I snort.  
“I said somewhere safe.” Too late, I realize what I said.   
“What?!” Jack hisses.  
“John, do you think I could burden you a bit more?” I ask, ignoring Jack.  
“Yes, of course.” He responds. 

Jack sets Mac lightly down on the couch. I send a quick text to Riley telling her to meet us at the Stilinki’s house.   
“So, fire is all you need to kill a revenant?” Peter asks. Derek, had followed us to the Stilinski house, and apparently invited Peter along.  
“Nope. I doubt it.” I say confidently.   
“What?” Derek hisses.   
“Come on, sour wolf! A revenant is something that was so determined to get revenge that it resurrects itself. A little campfire isn’t going to stop it.” Stile chides. A groan from the couch shifts everyone’s attention.   
“Hey, Mac, how ya feelin, bud?” Jack asks.   
“Like an elephant’s sitting on my chest, and a sledge hammer is pounding my head.” Mac croaks in response. “And my throat feels like sandpaper.” He adds. I offer him a bottle of water. “Where’d the revenant go?”  
“Er, we left him in the campfire. We’re going to need to come up with a more permanent solution. Maybe a bit of fox-fire?” I suggest.  
“That might work, but we should have a backup, just in case.” Mac nods, before wincing.   
“Well, let’s think about it.” I give a soft smile. The door is thrown open, and immediately, I have my sword in hand. I sigh as I see it’s just Riley.   
“Mac! You’re alright?!” She asks.  
“Nothing permanent.” He nods.   
“Don’t worry us like that!” She yells.  
“Ow, ow. Too loud.” Mac groans.   
“Sorry.” Riley apologized.  
“What did he give me?” Mac grumbles.   
“Ever hear of wolf lichen?” I ask.  
“Oh.” He says. “I’m just gonna take a nap.” He grumbles.  
“Good idea.” I tell him. I turn back to find Derek and Peter gone.   
“They went to go tell Scott and the pack about the revenant.” Stiles explains. I nod.   
“Argent should probably be alerted of the situation too. He might be able to give some suggestions of what to do.” I say.   
“I’ll call him later. Feel free to stay as long as you need.” John says.   
“Thank you.” I look him in the eye. He gives a nod. “This is bad.” I grumble, sitting down on the floor. Jack, Riley, and Stiles all find places around the room to sit.  
“Hey, at least it ain’t Cairo-bad.” Jack says.  
“I don’t know about that. I’ve got an undead revenant hell-bent on revenge trying to hurt my friends, and no way to stop it. Not to mention, a Nemeton that’s drawing all sorts of creatures here. And now I’m even more worried about my biological family.” I argue.  
“No. Cairo was still worse.” Jack says, shuddering.  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I nod.  
“Why? What happened in Cairo?” Stiles asks.  
“Dude, I’ve been trying to find out since I joined this team.” Riley warns. “You’re not gonna get anything out of those three.”  
“Awww, come on!” Stiles complains. “It couldn’t be that bad.” Stiles rolls his eyes. Jack and eye share a look.  
“Yes, it could.” We say, in sync. I look out the window to see incredibly dark clouds on the horizon.   
“Hmm. Looks like there’s going to be a storm tonight.” Jack says, almost reading my thoughts.  
“Hopefully that will hinder Cameron’s healing. If it rains hard enough, it might scatter the ashes around.” I reason. “It might buy us more time.”   
“Thank god! Finally, some good news.” Stiles says, throwing his arms up in celebration.   
“Yeah, but it looks like it’s going to be a thunderstorm, so there’s that.” I say with a shudder.  
“What, are you afraid of a little lightning?” Stiles teases. Even the word sends a shudder down my spine.  
“Hey, we’ve all got things that are off-limits in this job, that’s hers.” Jack defends.   
“Really? Thunderstorms? I didn’t know that.” Riley said.  
“I really don’t want to think about it.” I grumble.   
“Maybe you should just try sleeping through it?” Stiles suggests.  
“No, I tried that. Trust me, it’s worse when I wake up to a thunderstorm.” I answer.  
“But, you didn’t sleep last night.” Stiles’ brow furrows at the thought.  
“I’m an assassin, forty-eight hours isn’t exactly me being sleep deprived. More like one-hundred-sixty-eight hours to make me sleep deprived.” I shrug. We chat idly, about favorite food, colors, and the like. It almost distracts me enough to prevent me from noticing the sprinkles against the window. I can almost ignore the fact that the rain gets harder, very quickly. But it’s not enough to prepare me for the first flash of lightning, the first crack of thunder. I can’t stop the flinch that jolts my body when the first flash of light comes through the window. I can practically feel Stiles’ and Riley’s stares, but Jack keeps the conversation going as if nothing was happening. I ignore their stares, and respond to Jack’s random comment, trying to invest myself in the conversation that I’m obviously not paying attention to. It starts to work, my heart starts calming down, until the crack of thunder reaches my ears, making phantom pain dance across my body. I close my eyes and desperately try to fight back the flood of memories.

“Well, well, well. What did you do now, Stilinski? Did you piss off the King by speaking out of turn?” One of the guards sneers.  
“No, I betcha she killed the wrong wolf.” The other one suggests. I bite my tongue, by now I’ve learned that it’ll only make things worse to explain that I’m just here because the Goblin King thinks it’s been too long since I was last disciplined. Their smiles grew.  
“Hmm, she seems a bit quiet, maybe we should take her to the Storm Room.” Guard number one says to his buddy. My heart skips a beat, but I don’t let it show.   
“Sounds great. I’d love to hear her scream.” Guard number two grins. I simply decide to resign myself to a hell of a lot of pain.   
I splutter as they finally let my head come up out of the water. My lungs burn as I try to fill them with precious air. Guard number two grabs the back of my neck once more, I take one more breath and try to relax as much as possible.   
“Remember, little girl? This is the rain. It starts off as a drizzle, but grows to a downpour that steals your breath.” He says cheerfully, dunking my head under the water once more. I don’t bother struggling, don’t bother fighting. It won’t help. Time drags on, my lungs burn and bright lights seem to dance behind my closed eyelids. I want to surface, I need air, I NEED TO BREATH! I want this to be over, but I don’t want this to end at the same time. I don’t want to be drowning, but it’s better than what’s next. But all too soon, yet not soon enough I’m surfacing yet again, gasping for air, blinking the darkness at the edges of my sight away.   
“After the rain, the lightning starts coming in. Flashes of electricity, pure energy, cutting through the sky.” The first guard continues gleefully. I let them drag me to the next set up, and soon they have chains on my wrists and ankles, forcing me to stand, or hold all my weight on my wrists.  
“Next time, just give me some goddamn alphas.” I grumble, forcing my legs to bear my weight.   
“Well, you won’t be acting so cheeky in a moment.” Guard One jeers. I watch as the two of them work in tandem to set the wires up to the very conductive chains.   
“But I’ll still be thinking it.” I tell him. In retaliation, he simply flips a switch. I grit my teeth as I feel the electricity arc through me. As pain lances through my whole body, seconds last for eternities, I can’t bite back my scream. I’m aware of one of the guards saying something, but the meaning, doesn’t cut through the pain dancing across my skin, diving through my whole being. The time stretches on, until all I am aware is the pain cutting through my consciousness, forcing my body to spasm uncontrolled. After an eternity, the pain dies away, my body still twitching. I hang limply from my bindings, I have no more strength to even attempt to stand.   
“Just remember, lightning always comes before thunder.” I don’t even bother identifying which guard says it.   
“Betcha I coulda taken three.” I manage to groan. The guards freeze in confusion.  
“What?”  
“Alphas. I probly coulda taken three alphas.” I slur. One of them snorts, and a resounding crack echoes through the room. I don’t have the energy to flinch, or even cry out as the whip cuts through the skin on my back.  
“To know the distance a storm is from you, you count the seconds from the flash of lightning, to the crack of thunder. You’re going to count the amount of ‘thunder strikes’ that occur, Stilinski.  
“One.” I whisper. My head snaps to the side, face stinging from the open-handed slap.  
“What was that, little girl?” Guard one says, crouching in front of me.  
“One.” I manage to get out.   
“Good girl.”

“Forty-nine.” I croak out, forcing the shout of pain back down my throat. Blood is dripping out of the gashes on my back, arms, and legs and pooling on the floor. It makes red streaks on the floor, still damp from the rain before. I find myself focusing on the patterns my blood makes as it heads towards the drain. I can’t stop the yelp of pain as another sharp stab of pain flashes through my body. “Fifty.” I gasp. I’m light-headed from blood loss, and there’s no place on or in my body that doesn’t hurt. Whether it be the dull ache of hunger, the burning of my lungs, or the stinging of gashes exposed to air, my entire being is made up of pain right now. Suddenly, my shackles are opened and I fall, boneless, to the ground.   
“Well, well, well. She actually stayed conscious to fifty this time. Think we should try for a hundred next time?” Guard One says, a wolfish smile on his face.  
“Naw, we should try a hundred-fifty.” Guard two sneers. Another guard, a medic, walks into the room, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me to my feet. My muscles burn as I force them to support my weight, and the medic barely supports me as we make our way to the ‘infirmary’. My mentor is waiting for me, and motions for me to sit on one of the cots. I do so, and he lays a gentle hand on my shoulder, but I still can’t help flinching away from it.

I grab the hand on my shoulder, twisting the owner around into a painful hold.  
“Krysti, calm down, you’re safe.” Jack’s voice comes from the body in front of me. I take a moment, to realize that I’m gasping, and I can’tbreathitfeelslikeI’mdrowningagain. I stumble backwards, releasing Jack from the hold I had him in. I close my eyes and focus on the familiar presence of my friends. I try to mimic Mac’s easy breaths as he sleeps. When I finally feel like I can comfortably breath, I open my eyes to find Jack, Riley, and Stiles staring at me with concerned looks.  
“Sorry, Jack.” I say, looking down at my feet.  
“It’s my bad, I should’ve known better than to grab you.” He shakes his head.   
“You stopped your panic attack really fast.” Stiles notes, bewildered. “How? How do you do it so quickly?”   
“Uh, practice, mostly.” I shrug. “I can’t afford to let a panic attack affect me on the field, so I just force myself to copy either Mac or Jack’s breathing.”   
“You’ve had panic attacks on the field?” Jack asks, surprised.   
“I’ve gotten good at dealing with them over the years.” A storm of his very own seems to pass over his face.   
“Tell me next time.” He says seriously, looking me in the eyes.  
“I won’t ever let it get in the way of the mission.” I promise.  
“I don’t care. Just tell me when it happens, okay, Krysti?” He restates firmly.  
“Fine.” I relent. I haven’t quite gotten my heart to calm down, so I focus on Mac’s easy breathing once more. I jump as a flash of lightning brightens the room, followed almost immediately by thunder. This is going to be a long night.


	14. Chapter 14

I find myself in the kitchen, brewing coffee for Mac, Riley, Jack, and John. I don’t drink the stuff, but I figure I owe it to Jack, since he was up until a few hours ago, and John because he’s letting us stay over. Mac and Riley no doubt had a rough day yesterday, so I figure it’s only fair that I make some for them too. I already know how my three friends like their coffee, but I leave a cup of black coffee out, with the cream and sugar next to it since I don’t know how John likes his coffee. I also leave enough in the pot for another cup, since I’m not sure if Stiles drinks coffee or not. The first one up is John, coming down the stairs in uniform.   
“You’re up early.” He comments, looking at all the sleeping forms in his living room.  
“I couldn’t sleep. Decided to have some coffee ready for you as a small thank-you. Naturally, everything will be reimbursed when this mission is over.” I give him a smile.   
“Well, if you want to thank me, make sure that boy goes to school, will ya?” John winks at me.  
“Will do. Trust me, Mac’s gonna wake up soon, and he will not tolerate anyone skipping school.” I grin.  
“Then why are you here, on his team?” John asks, confused.  
“I got my high school diploma in about three months. He insisted, even though, you know, I’ve already got a very secure job that will no doubt last a lifetime.” I shrug.  
“Why do I have a feeling that’s not exactly saying much?” John asks. I open my mouth to respond, but he holds up a hand. “That was a rhetorical question. I really don’t want to know what you were going to say.”  
“Well, don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to.” I pout. He chuckles.   
“Alright, I need to be at the station early today. Remember, Stiles will try to worm his way out of school.” I give John a mock salute as he walks out the door.   
“So, he wants us to make sure Stiles goes to school? Mac says, walking to the counter.  
“Yup.” I say, popping the ‘p’. I push his mug of coffee towards him. He shoots me a grateful look before grabbing it and taking a sip.  
“Ahhh, just how I like it. Thanks, Kay. And thanks for coming to get me, and making sure Jack didn’t get hurt in the rescue attempt.”  
“We’re a team, we look out for each other.” I nod.  
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t thank you for it.” He grins back. “It smells like rain outside; did you have a rough night?” He asks, worried. I sigh.  
“Yeah. We should let Jack sleep in, he went to sleep about two hours ago.” I say, nodding. Mac hums in response.   
“You should get some sleep, too, ya know?” He suggests. I shake my head.  
“No, not yet. I’ll try to catch a nap in the afternoon, but not now.” I tell him.  
“I’ll hold you to that.” Mac says seriously.  
“I know you will.” I respond.  
“How do you guys manage to get up so early every day?” Riley yawns, joining us at the counter. I push her cup of coffee towards her. Her face lights up, and she all but lunges for the mug. She moans as she takes a sip. “Thank you sooooo much.”   
“Kay didn’t sleep, that’s how she’s up. I slept too much.” Mac chuckles.   
“No, I mean you two are always up before Jack, and especially me.” She clarifies.  
“I like watching the sunrise. It reminds me that no matter how dark the night gets, things will always get brighter.” I tell her.  
“So, I’m guessing you don’t like sunsets.” She jokes. I shrug.  
“Nah, they’re pretty.” I smile. “Besides, there’s always regression to the mean.”   
“Seriously? I expect this stuff from Mac, not from you.” She groans.  
“What does that even mean?” Stiles asks, getting up from his position in the living room.  
“You drink coffee?” I ask instead.  
“Hell yeah.” He smiles. I pour him a cup, and give him the cream and sugar. “So, what does regression to the mean, mean exactly?” He asks again.   
“Well, basically, everything normals out eventually. It’ll always return to the mean, the average.” I explain.  
“Isn’t that the opposite of the second law of thermometer dynamite?” Jack groans from the living room. I smile as Mac gives an exasperated sigh.  
“The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can only increase over time.”  
“Woah now, last time you said it decreases.” Jack complains.   
“Jack, last time we had enemies coming up in the elevator, we were trying to get Elvis to calm down, and I’m pretty sure we both had a concussion. Not to mention I was trying to jury rig a straight-jacket because someone didn’t pack extra zip-ties.”  
“That still doesn’t explain how the world can simultaneously have repressive meanies, and turbo diplomats.” Jack complains.  
“Dude, you have to be doing that on purpose.” Stiles says, shaking his head.   
“With Jack, you never know.” I sigh. “The second law of thermodynamics is, a) talking about an isolated system, and b) means that eventually things go to shit. Regression to the mean says that eventually, in an open system, after things have gone to shit, it gets normal again.” I explain simply.  
“See, Mac? That’s how you speak English.” Jack points at me. “So, depression to the seam means that everything will get better?” Jack asks.  
“It means that things can’t be bad all the time.” Stiles clarifies.   
“Even with lives like ours?” Riley asks, gesturing to everyone in the room. I simply shrug in response.

“You are going to school.” Mac says with finality. Stiles pouts, but I can see the resignation on his face. We’ve spent the last thirty-minutes watching Mac and Stiles argue about school attendance. I watch as Stiles gets into his jeep and drives to the school. “So, revenant?” Mac says, raising an eyebrow at me.  
“Yeah, Cameron Tamar.” I nod.  
“Wait, isn’t that the guy who you were telling the Sheriff and Stiles about after we went to the Nemeton?” Riley asks.   
“Mmmhmm.” I nod.  
“See, what did I tell you? Every time someone doubts Krystie killed someone, someone seeks revenge for that someone she killed!” Jack exclaims.  
“Except this time, the someone she killed is the person seeking revenge.” Mac says grimly.  
“Yup. And you may be our only hope of getting rid of him. I don’t know of anything more powerful than fox-fire, other than, you know, phoenix-fire or dragon-fire.” I say.  
“One problem, I’ve never been good at controlling it. The last time I tried…” His voice trails off with the thought. He shudders. “Well, it was in Chicago.” He says. It takes me a second to connect the dots.  
“Dude, you were responsible for the Great Chicago Fire?” I ask. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. Jack and Riley look at him in awe.  
“Now, that’s disturbing. Why are the two of you looking at me like that’s a good thing?” Mac asks.   
“I guess it never really clicked that you really are two-hundred years old.” Riley answers slowly. Mac just rolls his eyes. I can’t help but chuckle.  
“Well, back on track, at least we know wolfs bane still affects Tamar. When I used the smoke grenades, he was hacking up a lung.” I say, getting the conversation back on track.   
“Smoke grenades?” Mac asks warily.  
“Yeah, you should’ve seen her. Our Krystie was getting all ‘MacGyver’ in the safe house. She made her own smoke grenades!” Jack says proudly. This time it’s my turn to roll my eyes.   
“I told you, it’s only because Mac lent me his old textbooks.” Mac blushes.  
“You mean you actually read the notes in the margins?” He groans. I smirk at him.  
“Oh, yes I do. And lemme tell you something, I have sooooo much I can blackmail you with.” I give him a big grin.  
“Oooh, I wanna hear this.” Jack says, rubbing his hands together. Mac’s blush grows ten-fold.  
“Nah, I’m going to save it for when I need Mac’s cooperation.” I say with a wink.  
“Can I see the grenades you made?” Mac asks, and I decide to pity him. I hand over the said grenades, and watch him inspect them. “Wow, very neat job. I probably would’ve used a sugar fuse, though.” He says absentmindedly.  
“Yeah, but I wanted a quicker fuse, so I used some of Jack’s bullets. I also mixed some wolfs bane in when I was caramelizing the sugar, and that worked out really well.” I beam.  
“Nicely done.” Mac nods.   
“However, we need to figure out what to do about the revenant. It won’t stop until I’m dead, or we find a way to destroy it.”  
“Can’t we just pull the same trick we did with that rich snob and almost kill you?” Jack asks.   
“Well, first off, do you remember how well that worked out? Second, I think Tamar has to be the one to kill me.” I say, eyeing him carefully.  
“Oh. Right.” He nods.   
“So, fox-fire is out of the question, for now, but there’s gotta be some way.” I say, thinking.  
“You said he brought himself back through determination, right? Maybe you just have to outlast his determination?” Riley suggests.  
“If he was determined enough to come back from the dead, chances are he’s going to be determined enough to keep trying until I slip up and give him an opportunity to kill me.” I dismiss the idea. I turn to Mac. “What kind of stuff works well against the undead?”  
“Uh, I’m not sure. The undead aren’t exactly a common occurrence. I’ve heard salt works pretty well. Silver maybe?” He suggests. “Your guess is as good as mine.” He shrugs apologetically.   
“Well, those would be my guesses.” I groan. Suddenly there’s a knock on the door. Our heads snap towards the door, and I creep towards it silently. Carefully, I look through the peephole, ready to jump back at any moment. I see the two Hales standing at the front door. I turn to Mac and mouth ‘Hales’, before opening the door, still poised to jump back.  
“Stiles texted me, said that we should probably keep an eye on you guys because of the revenant. I figured we could go through the preserve to the Hale house so that if you do get attacked, no one’s property is at risk.” Derek explains. I share a guarded look with Mac and Jack, before nodding, and following the wolves.

“I am not going in there. The only thing holding that house together is the termites holding hands.” I say, crossing my arms. The wreck, and I’m being generous by calling it that, of the Hale house looks like it can barely support its own weight.   
“Yeah, I second that.” Mac agrees, glancing warily at the ‘house’.   
“That must have been one helluva fire.” Jack says with a whistle. Derek growls.  
“Oh, it was, trust me.” Peter snarls. Suddenly both of the wolves stiffen. Peter’s eyes flash blue. “There were other wolves here.” Those five words snap my senses onto high alert.   
“How long ago?” I breath out. I know that even with his hearing, Peter would have barely caught it.  
“An hour, at most.” He replies.   
“How many?”   
“A lot, at least a pack of seven, maybe even ten.”  
“We should get back to town, they’ll be less likely to attack in broad daylight where there are witnesses.” Mac suggests.   
“Good idea.” I nod, setting off at a brisk pace. I make sure Jack and Riley are walking in front of me, in sight of me or Mac at all times. 

We find ourselves outside of a convenience store. I raise an eyebrow at Mac, before we both head inside. After a brief scan of the store, I head straight for the sodas. Bottles always come in handy when Mac’s around. I look around, and find a roll of cheap duct tape. I grab a couple, and head over to the register to pay. As I walk out, I see Mac buying eight or so magazines. I continue out of the store, tossing a bottle to both Jack and Riley. They start sipping at the bottles.  
“Was the desire to get a drink so irresistible you just had to quench it now?” Peter hisses, venom laced in his voice. I roll my eyes and dump the four other bottles of the pack into the bushes. Peter shoots me a confused look. Moments later Mac is walking out with his magazines, and the look of confusion just grows on the two Hales’ faces.   
“Cool. I was hoping you found the duct tape.” He says nonchalantly. My mind races to try to figure out what he intends to use the magazines for. There’s an invading pack. Since there’s a pack, there’s most likely an alpha. He’ll want to prevent Jack and Riley from being hurt as much as possible… A small shift in my stance makes the arm guards I have hidden under my jacket digging into my wrist, and it clicks.  
“Will those stop the jaws of an alpha?” I find myself asking.  
“How’d you know that’s what I was planning?” He asks. He shakes his head, as if to say ‘don’t answer that’. “Come one, you’ve seen paper stop the bullets from AK-47’s, I think they can stop an alpha’s bite.” Mac chides. I shrug.  
“Just makin sure.”   
“What?!” Peter asks, dumbfounded. Mac ignores him. He hands me four of the magazines.  
“Alright, you two, roll your sleeves up.” He orders. Jack and Riley comply, knowing better than to question him. Mac hands me four of the magazines, and I toss him one of the rolls of duct tape. I walk up to Jack.  
“Arm.” I command. He holds out his arm.  
“Now, I would like a bit of an explanation, mind you. I trust you, but it’s always nice to be kept in the loop.” Jack says.  
“Well, uh, as I said before,” Mac starts as he starts working with Riley. “We’ve used reams of paper to stop the bullets from AK-47’s before. Paper, when stacked, is a lot stronger than you’d expect.” I wrap the magazine around Jack’s arm, covering it completely with duct tape, and move to the other one. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mac doing the same to Riley. “Therefore, if we wrap these magazines, which are very conveniently made of stacked paper, around your arms and legs…” His voice trails off as he works.  
“We’re covering your extremities, which are the easiest for a werewolf to bite. This should give you a slightly better chance against wolves who have built in fangs and claws.” I finish for Mac. When I finish taping the second magazine, Jack rolls down his sleeves, making his new arm guards almost undetectable. “Now for your shins.” I say simply. He grins, before bending down to roll his pants up. I hand him one magazine, so he can do one leg while I do the other.   
“Who are you?” Peter asks, incredulously. “How the hell do you come up with these ideas?” Mac just shrugs.  
“I’m just me.” Is Mac’s response. Derek’s just raising a questioning eyebrow.  
“Now is not the time to bask in the awesomeness that is MacGyver.” I smirk. “But really, we need to concentrate on the fact that there’s an uninvited pack on your guys’ territory.” Derek shakes his head.  
“Let us deal with that. You deal with the revenant. I hear it’s after you.” He turns to Peter. “You should go tell Scott about the pack.”   
“Well, you can always go tell Scott.” Peter replies. Derek raises an eyebrow. “Well, dear nephew, since you clearly don’t trust me, I’ll go tell the cute little alpha about the invading pack.” Peter runs off to Scott’s house. Derek lets out a low growl.   
“Geeze, why do you even keep him around?” Riley asks, rolling her eyes.  
“They keep him around because he’s the most experienced. No matter how untrustworthy he is, he still has valuable knowledge.” I explain. “I mean, no offence,” I say, turning to Derek. “But these guys need all the information they can get, what with the Nemeton in their backyard.” Derek just grunts in response.   
“Very vocal, this one is.” Jack comments.   
“Jack.” Mac scolds.  
“You should go meet up with your pack, we can handle ourselves.” I ignore the two as they start bickering. Derek gives a nod, and heads off.   
“So, Mac, you don’t happen to know anything about revenants, do you?” I find myself asking.  
“No. I didn’t even know they were affected by wolfs bane.” He shakes his head.   
“And we don’t even know if he was just affected because he was a wolf before he died.” I add.  
“Wait, hold on. Before, you said wolfs bane could kill Mac, why didn’t the smoke hurt him?” Jack asks. Apparently, the thought just occurred to him.  
“Well, most of my wolfs bane is infused with wolf lichen, and a few other things. I’m an assassin, I’m in the habit of keeping a lot of my tools as generalized as possible. Lots of times I found myself going after a target that I have no idea what exactly they were. Distilled wolfs bane won’t do much to a kitsune, and the wolf lichen Tamar gave Mac was weak, so the wolfs bane only gave Mac a sore throat.” I explain.  
“Oh.”   
“So, will this stuff actually help against these wolves?” Riley asks, inspecting the magazine-armguards.   
“Hopefully. If they try to bite or scratch you, chances are your reflexes will be to raise your arm to block it. This should stop them from cutting through your skin.” I say. But a bite could probably still crush the bones in your arm. A glance at Mac tells me he’s thinking of something along the same lines.  
Suddenly, Mac’s head whips around. His brow furrows in concern. “That was a wolf howl.”  
“Can you tell whose it was?” I ask. Mac shakes his head.  
“Wait, I didn’t hear anything.” Jack points out, looking around.  
“Supernatural hearing.” Mac explains simply. “No, I couldn’t tell who it was, but considering what’s going on, we should probably investigate.” Mac says, turning to me. ‘But I don’t want to put them in danger’ He says with his face. I take two pouches out of my pockets handing one to either of our friends.  
“If something bad happens, throw these right at your feet.” I instruct. “They’re filled with mountain ash, and will make a circle around you when you do that.”  
“Are you expecting things to go bad?” Jack asks.  
“I always expect things to go bad.” I counter.   
“What about Mac?” Riley asks.  
“Uh, no thanks. I’d rather not trap myself in a circle I can’t get myself out of. Even I can’t think my way out of a circle of mountain ash without a normal human’s help.” Mac says, raising his hands as if to ward off an attempt of giving him a mountain ash pouch.  
“I think Mac can handle himself when it comes to wolves.” I shrug. “Okay, let's go find some wolves.”


	15. Chapter 15

I slowly put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. He looks at me, and I shake my head. I mouth ‘super hearing’. Mac and Riley come to a stop behind us. I put my fingers to my lips as Riley takes a breath to speak. Riley instantly shuts her mouth, wide-eyed.   
Mac points at himself, mouthing something along the lines of ‘they won’t hear me’. He’s off before I can react, and I grab Jack to prevent him from following. Jack glares at me, I just shrug.  
‘Sorry.’ I mouth with a shrug. It’s a couple minutes before Mac returns. He’s wide-eyed and pale.  
“Come on.” Mac says simply. We continue moving forward at a brisk pace. As we near a clearing, the stench of blood is so strong that even my non-wolf nose can smell it. As we enter the clearing, the smell seems thick enough to choke on. I hear Riley retching behind me, along with Jack’s “Oh my god…” I school my features into an emotionless mask. I force myself not to react, to inspect the gruesome scene without distraction. There’s a- well, it used to be a body I think. At the moment, it’s just chunks of meat and shards of bone.   
“Oh, jeeze. What the hell?!” A familiar voice exclaims behind us. I turn to see Stiles turning away from the blood and gore.   
“I told you it smelled bad.” Scott’s voice says from behind the trees.   
“You’re not even going to look?” Stiles asks the trees.  
“I’d rather not.” Scott replies.  
“Aren’t alphas supposed to be super macho or something? How are you going to be able to call yourself an alpha after this?” Stiles teases.  
“No one has to know.”   
“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that, True Alpha.” I answer. Scott stumbles out of the tree line, before gagging at the sight. “Now, I’m not up to date on my werewolf etiquette, but I’m pretty sure when an invading pack does something like this, it’s an act of war.”  
“Dude, how can you even think about that stuff right now?” Stiles asks.   
“I’m good at ignoring emotions.” I shrug. “It helps when you’ve seen it before.”   
“You, uh, you’ve seen this before?” Jack stammers.   
“Yes, unfortunately.” I nod. “But, more concerning is the timing of this all. A revenant, then a warring pack? This has to be more than a coincidence.” I point out.   
“Can we not talk about this here, I feel like I’m going to lose my lunch.” Stiles groans.  
“Aren’t you two supposed to be at school?” Mac asks. Scott gives a guilty look.  
“Dude, this is marginally more important than attendance right now! We could be in the beginning stages of a territorial war.” Stiles complains loudly.   
“Well, this is starting to get interesting.” Peter’s chilling voice rings out in the clearing. “So, what ever shall we do, true alpha?”   
“We need to find this pack and drive them out of Beacon Hills.”   
“And what if they’re working with the revenant?” Derek butts in.   
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.” Scott answers.  
“Well, we could always give the girl to the revenant.” Peter fixes a glare on me.  
“That’s not gonna happen.” Stiles scowls.  
“Only if you want to be in a world of pain, buddy.” Jack threatens.   
“Oh, the cute little human thinks he can take on some wolves?” Jack unholsters his gun.   
“Well, you know, we humans have domesticated wolves into pets for centuries.” Jack shrugs.   
“Well, why don’t we all calm down a bit. We have an idea on how to get rid of the revenant, but we need a bit more planning to get it done. As for this pack, it’s probable that they’re working with the revenant, not guaranteed.” I give an internal sigh. I hope those two don’t start competing for dominance… I shake my head before that train of thought goes any further.   
“So, you’ll try your idea for getting rid of the revenant while we deal with this pack?” Scott asks tentatively.  
“Yup, and hopefully it will even work.”  
“And, if it doesn’t?” Stiles’ eyebrow quirks up. Mac, Jack, Riley and I all share a small smile, despite the grim setting.  
“We improvise.”  
“Wonderful.” Peter grumbles.

We managed to convince Stiles and Scott to go back to school for now, and Jack, Mac, Riley and I were all sitting in a small diner.   
“So, this fox-fire, do you think it will work?” Riley asks Mac.  
“Well, I think it could work, if I could use it. I can barely summon it, much less control it.” Mac says, looking disappointed.   
“Well, in the right setting, we don’t need it controlled. We’ll just need to find a remote, abandoned place…” My voice trails off in thought.  
“And where are we going to find a place like that in such a small town?” Jack asks.  
“We’ll figure that out later.” I shake my head. I can feel a thought dancing at the edge of my mind, but I can’t quite grasp it yet. Suddenly my phone vibrates in my pocket. I fish the phone out quickly, glancing at it before answering it. It’s a number I don’t know, but I have been giving my phone number out recently. However, my heart skips a beat at the voice on the other side.  
“Stilinski, I don’t have much time to talk.” The voice is labored, and gravelly, but it is unmistakable.   
“Denzil?” I breath out. I can feel the curious glances from my friends, but I ignore them in favor for my old mentor.   
“I’m being hunted. It’s a revenant. I haven’t been able to identify who the revenant is, but there’s something strange going on.” His voice is a hushed whisper.  
“There’s a revenant after me too. There’s a possibility that its even working with a wolf pack.” I inform him.   
“That’s not good. I don’t know how long I have. Stilinski, there are rumors going around. Rumors that the Goblin King is back.”  
“Well, that could be anyone masquerading around in a mask imitating him. Let’s be honest, it’s happened before.” Despite my reasoning, I can’t help but notice my heartbeat rising, or my hands starting to shake.  
“Whatever the case, we’re not the first to be hunted down, and none of the others have survived. Whether he’s an imposter or not, the Goblin King is hunting his assassins down. Stilinski, you were the best, but even you can’t kill a revenant.”  
“I’m not going to kill myself, or give up, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”  
“What?!” Jack hisses.  
“No, no. I’m just saying. I hope you have a very good plan. The thing is-“ Denzil gives a strangled gasp, before the phone drops to the ground. Moments later, the line goes dead. I put the phone down, and take a deep breath. I look up to three expectant gazes.  
“So, uh, what was that all about?” Riley finally asks.  
“Uh, that was my old mentor, Avi Denzil.”   
“And he wanted you to kill yourself?” Mac asks, bewildered.   
“No, no. That was an incorrect assumption on my part. He called to let me know that he was being hunted too. Not to mention, he’d heard that many of our, erm, ex-colleagues have been hunted down.”   
“So, this revenant is more than just a random supernatural occurrence?” Mac’s head cocks to the side.  
“Possibly much more. Denzil told me that there are rumors that the Goblin King is back. That could mean anything from him being a revenant to there being a copycat.”   
“Well, did he have anything else to say?” Jack asks.  
“No, not really.”  
“Well, he could have helped a bit more now, couldn’t he?” Riley grumbles.   
“I think he planned on it. He seemed to get cut off. In more than one way I think.” I force my emotions back. The tears that threaten to fall, the grief that’s fighting its way up my throat, the terror of what’s going on, I push it all down.   
“You mean…” Riley’s voice trails off, obviously unsure how to continue the sentence.   
“Yeah, I heard it at the end of the call.” I say quietly.  
“Kay, I’m sorry.” Jack says softly. I didn’t know that was possible for him.  
“It doesn’t matter. We need to deal with everything that’s going on right now.” I shake my head. “I will have time to grieve after.” I’m honestly not sure if I’m trying to convince them, or myself.

True to my word, once we got back to the Stilinski house I took a power nap. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any mystical visions, or insightful dreams. Instead, I just had a simple, dreamless sleep. Which is a blessing, really. To sleep and not have nightmares is a rare, but nice surprise. I check my phone to see that I had slept for about thirty minutes. I stretch out, waking myself up fully.   
"You're up already?" Mac sighs.  
"Mmhmm." I hum simply.   
"So, I've been thinking," I bite back a sarcastic response at those common words. "What if we try to lure the revenant to the old Hale house? I mean, it's already been burnt to a crisp, I won't do much more damage to it." Mac suggests.  
"Well, that might work, except we should run it by Derek and Peter first, before we settle on that. In the meantime, we should try to come up with other places we might be able to burn down without casualties." I get off the couch and starts riffling through my duffel bag, hoping it will help spur on some other ideas on how to get rid of this revenant. "If only the Nemeton weren't corrupt. I'm sure we would be able to use it some how." It takes me a moment to realize that I spoke aloud.   
"Well, no use thinking about the 'what-ifs'. We just have to focus on what we have." He says, sitting down on the floor, next to me.   
"Yeah, doesn't mean I can't wish it were easier though." I say, grinning softly. He hums in agreement. We sit in comfortable silence, sitting on the floor of the Stilinski household. Soon, Jack walks in from the kitchen.   
"Got lunch all ready for you two brainiacs." He says with a smile. "So, how goes the planning?"   
"Well," I say, getting up off the floor. "We were thinking of using the Hale house for a possible location to end the revenant, but we'd have to clear that with the living Hales. That would be the ideal place to have Mac use his fox-fire."  
"But, we should still think of some other places we could possibly use, in case the Hales have a reason for us not to use their burnt down shell of a house for the site of an uncontrolled fire. " Mac finishes for me. We walk into the dining room to find some homemade hamburgers ready for eating.  
"Well, what about the motel we were in, considering, you know, it's already been blown up." Jack points out.  
"Huh, hadn't thought of that. I guess it would work, but we'd have to make sure it's empty if we use it. We also need to make sure that there's no evidence we could use that's left over from the bomb." I look at Mac as I mention the last bit.  
"I went to check out the bomb site while you were taking your nap. There wasn't much to learn from it. It was just an ordinary bomb, home-made, but not much else to know." Mac says, shaking his head. I let the information sink in as I start to dig into the lunch Jack and Riley prepared.   
"As much as I hate splitting up again, I think it'd be best if Mac and I go scout around the town for potential sites." I suggest, waiting for the inevitable debate with Jack about including him. There's a tic of silence, before-  
"I'm coming with you." Wow. What a surprise.   
"No, the smaller the group the less trouble we're going to attract." Mac says, shaking his head.  
"Not to mention, no matter how capable she is, we shouldn't leave Riley all alone."   
"Well, then, how about you and me go?" Jack says, motioning between me and him.   
"I'll need Mac's view on things, after all, he's the one who can make the fox-fire."   
"What about that Yukimura person, we could get her opinion. Heck, we could probably get her to do try and get rid of the revenant." Mac gives a snort at that suggestion.  
"Somehow, I don't think that Mrs. Yukimura will be too willing to help us out." He replies simply. "Jack, I'm fully capable of defending myself."   
"Well, who was it that got kidnapped by the revenant, nearly giving me a heart attack?! You!"   
"Well, first off, that was before we even knew we were dealing with a revenent. Second, It's unlikely that the revenant will come out in broad daylight. The undead tend to despise broad daylight, granted, I don't know for sure if its because they just don't like it, or if it harms them some other creatures of the night." Mac explains.   
"Why can't all four of us go?" Jack tries finally.  
"Jack, I already said that two people will attract much less trouble than four." Jack practically growls at my response. "Okay, so keep in mind: the floorboards, window panes, and doors are made of mountain ash, so nothing supernatural is getting in unless you let it in."  
“It’s my job to make sure Mac is safe. I’m not letting the two of you go out on your own.“ I feel annoyance bubbling up in my stomach.  
“You know what? Fine. If you want to risk us all going, that’s fine with me. If your bull-headedness gets us killed, that’s on you.” I finally throw my hands into the air. Wonderful. Just wonderful.


	16. Chapter 16

If I were to be completely honest, Beacon Hills was a nice little town. I mean, sure, they have an infestation of supernatural creatures, but despite that the whole town manages to be a charming little place. Granted, the fact that most of the buildings are either new or collapsed probably has to do with the constant fights between young teens with super strength and their adversaries.  
“There aren’t exactly any places out here suitable for what we have planned.” Mac observes. We’d been walking around for about an hour and a half, we had covered the majority of the town by now.  
“So, this was a bust, what now?” Jack grumbles.  
“Well, the high school should be getting out soon, we should meet up with the pack and see if they have any suggestions. The sooner we get this over with, the better. The less distractions, the sooner we can get back on track with the Nemeton.”  
“And the sooner we can get out of here?” Jack added. “Is this about what happened with your old mentor?”  
“I won’t let that get in the way, and you know it. It’s just- If the Goblin King is back, he’s not going to settle for revenge. Yeah, that’s his current objective, but once that’s done, he’ll be back on track to try to rule over the supernatural, then the natural world.” Once again, I find myself forcing down a wave of fear, and sorrow. Now is not the time to be human.  
“Woah, whoa, whoa now. You’re talking like we’re not gonna win here Krystie!” Jack scolds.   
“No, I’m not talking like I’m going to die. The Goblin King wouldn’t expect Tamar to come back from this. Typically, when a revenant gets their revenge, they die. Therefore, the Goblin King thinks that death is inevitable for me. No doubt he’s already preparing to take over the world. Don’t worry, I’m not losing hope, just forgetting you guys are relatively new to all this.”   
“Well, someone sure is confident.” Somehow, I manage to keep my heartbeat and breathing steady, not even the slightest hitch. I turn to face a man. He looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. Carefully, I palm a pouch of mountain ash powder into my hand. I’m painfully aware of the fact that there’s no pedestrians around, just this man and us. Nope, scratch that, there’s maybe six people now, emerging from around us. They have us surrounded.   
“If you truly knew who I was, and what I’ve done, you would realize that my confidence is well-founded.” I tell him simply. “In fact, you’d all be running with your tails between your legs right now.”  
“Well, Silver Wolf, do you think you can take on all of us while protecting your friends?” The man’s eyes flare red at his words. I let out a sigh.   
“Is there anything I can say to convince you to not fight?” I find myself asking.  
“How about ‘I give up’?” One of the betas suggests.   
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I know those words. I don’t think I’ve ever-“ I act suddenly, throwing the pouch at Riley and Jack’s feet. Three of the betas pounce at us, and I shove Mac behind me, simultaneously grabbing one of my knives. I block the claws of the beta coming from my left with my arm, feeling him tear through my jacket, but glance off of my armguard. At the same time, I lash out with my leg to the right, dishing out a bone snapping kick to the shoulder of the beta lunging towards me.  I quickly duck under the swipe the beta in front of me attempted, before digging my knife in his throat. I twist out of the way, making sure to pull Mac with me. The third beta slumps, lifeless, to the ground. I nudge Mac with my elbow. “Scram.”   
“But-“ I don’t let him get any further.  
“GO!” I all but growl at him. Mac hesitates for a moment, but disappears in a blur. I watch as a beta sprints after him, but I know Mac will lose her quickly. I’m sure he’ll be back with the Beacon Hills pack as soon as he can.   
“What, making sure at least one of your friends makes it out alive? You never were able to keep your comrades alive for long, were you?” Despite my training, his taunt makes my breath catch ever so slightly.  “Oh, don’t tell me the cold-hearted assassin has a crack in that emotionless façade.”  
"I'd take a crack in a facade over being an idiot like you." I let the words just flow off my tongue. His eyes flare red and a growl resonates from his chest.   
"You little bi-"  
"Ah, ah, ah. I'm not a wolf, so you can't call me that. And even then, I believe the politically correct term would be she-wolf." I cut him off with a smile. He lunges, snarling, but I simply take a step to my left, right inside the circle of mountain ash that Jack and Riley are in. "So, how's it goin'?" I ask my friends casually.  
"Oh, just the usual. Baddies tryin' to kill us, us kickin' the baddies' butts." Jack replies in the same conversational tone.  
"What did you do? That was all Krystie." Riley corrects him.  
"Well, I would've helped, but Kay obviously had it all covered, so I just decided to let her have her fun. I'm not gonna turn into one of those helicopter parents that just hover over the little ones now. Nu-uh, that is so not me." Jack replies.  
"Enough!" The alpha roars. "Come out and face me, you COWARD!"  
"Oh, no! You wound me, sir. How dare ye call me a coward, you dastardly sir. I shall prove thee wrong!" I clutch my chest in fake pain. I sigh, and turn back to face Jack. "You know, it's way more fun when the 'baddies' aren't smart, and resort to petty insults when they don't get their way. Honestly, we should do this more often!" I wink at him. The alpha charges, only to be pushed back by the mountain ash circle. "You up for some target practice, Jack?" I ask. He smirks back.  
"Thought you'd never ask." He reaches for his pistol, and I grab another knife.   
"Get over here, you idiot, and break the circle!" I hear the alpha hiss. I catch him shoving someone forward, towards the circle. The man is clearly a normal human, able to cross, and of course, disrupt the circle.  
"If you value your life, don't even attempt it." I warn the man. I can see his hands shaking. He's terrified. He's glancing carefully between me and the alpha. "Just step into the circle, we can protect you. You don't have to be afraid of that alpha anymore." Behind him, the alpha's eyes flash dangerously. I take a step out of the circle, quickly grabbing the man and throwing him inside the circle, before diving to the ground. The alpha jumps over me, only to slam, once again, into the circle of mountain ash. The only problem is: now he's between me and the circle. He snarls at me once more, before his face morphs into a wicked grin. He's obviously realized the position we're in.   
I take a deep breath, before letting it out and letting my muscles loosen. I widen my stance slightly, and keep myself ready to react instantly.   
Blam! Blam!  
The alpha roars in pain as Jack's bullets tear into him. The remaining betas are running at me, I jump back, avoiding the claws of one, before lunging forward under her arms to dig my knife deep into her shoulder. I quickly twist her arm behind her, forcing her between me and another beta's bone crunching kick. Ignoring the screams of pain, I kick her toward the beta that just kicked before diving to my right, avoiding the snapping jaws of another. I pop up to find myself face to face with a very capable, very angry alpha. I bring my right arm up instinctively, before I even registered the arm drawn back for a punch. I bite back a yell as I feel the bone in my arm break, only to get my breath knocked out of me as I'm slammed against the wall of a building. I duck immediately, avoiding another swipe of the claws from the alpha. I'm vaguely aware of the betas standing back and watching the fight. I just thank all the gods I don't believe in that they are so confident in their alpha that they aren't assisting him. Bracing my back against the wall, I use both of my legs to shove the alpha away, quickly dashing off to my left, trying to circle around him to get to the mountain ash. I'm greeted with the sight of Jack wrestling with the man I threw in there, who now has a knife, and Riley backed up to the edge of the circle. As soon as that's registered in my mind, the alpha is in front of me again, a wolfish grin on his face as he stalks toward me and I'm forced to back up again.   
"Give up yet?" He gloats. I let my face melt into an emotionless mask. Time to get serious. I don't bother responding, instead, I grab a knife in my left hand, keeping my injured right carefully behind me. I feint right, dashing left, dishing out a small slash to his arm as I go. Immediately, I reverse my course, ducking under another swipe of the claws and make another cut at his leg. I keep moving, never stopping, and continuously making small cuts and slashes at the alpha. The bullet wounds are starting to take its toll on the wolf, and I can see some black liquid pooling at the corner of his mouth.   
"You idiots! Help me!" He snarls at the betas, who were shifting uncomfortably at a distance. Shit. The reaction is instantaneous, the betas rush at me, and my focus shifts to avoiding the lightning fast claws and punches. Mac, hurry. I find myself thinking. I push past the pain of my broken arm and my muscles screaming in protest. I force the worries for Jack and Riley to the back of my mind. I focus solely on avoiding the claws and fangs of the wolves. It's enough to keep me alive, not unharmed. A beta manages to land a swipe at my ribs, and let out a grunt of pain at the burn as I jump out of the way of another attack. Another beta manages to cut at my left calf as I'm a fraction to slow diving away from him.   
All of the wolves freeze as a howl echoes through the street. I take advantage of the distraction, to dash out of the pack. I feel a hand on my shoulder, pulling me back and steadying me at the same time. I tense, fighting the instinct to shrug the hand off. Then the hand grabs my shattered forearm.   
"ARGH!" White hot pain lances up my arm. I throw my left elbow back, catching the person in the ribs, and they let go of my arm. I cradle my broken arm carefully.  
"Shit, sorry." Stiles says, groaning. "But that was a bit much, wasn't it?" I look around to see that the streets have turned into a war-zone. Scott and the other alpha are facing off, as are Scott's betas and the invading pack's betas are fighting. My eyes wander to the circle of mountain ash, where Jack is standing over the man. The man is unconscious, laying limp at Jack's feet.  
"We should, ah..." My voice trails off, but I nod towards the mountain ash circle.  
"Right." He nods. I notice something barreling towards us from the corner of my eye, and I tack Stiles to the ground.  
"Ack!" His arms flail as he hits the ground, I roll gracefully back to my feet. Once again, I find myself face to face with the alpha. His eyes are wild, black liquid is dripping from his mouth and nose. I reach down with my good arm, dragging Stiles to his feet and push him behind me. "Ah. You look... Horrible." Stiles gasps.   
The alpha growls, taking a swipe at me. I jump back, pushing Stiles back with me. I hazard a glance, and see Scott fighting off three of the betas. I growl right back, shoving Stiles towards the circle of mountain ash and lunging at the wolf in front of me. I catch him by surprise, somehow managing to tackle him to the ground. I sprint towards the circle as fast as I can, which, admittedly, due to my injuries was not very fast. I hear a deafening roar from behind me, and brace myself for an impact. The alpha slams into me from behind, and suddenly my shoulder explodes in pain. I can't help but scream in pain as my arm is trapped between my body and the ground, with the added weight of the alpha on my back. White spots dance across my vision, and part of me is aware the whole area has gone silent, but the rest of me is focused on the pain coursing through my body. I close my eyes, and force myself to focus on my breathing. Somehow, I managed to slow my breaths from panting, to a slow, heavy breathing.   
Slowly, the weight disappears from my back, and I manage to roll myself over, freeing my injured arm from the temporary hell it was put through. I open my eyes to see Chris Argent standing over me. Mac is standing right behind him. I barely register the worried look, before I let my head loll to the side. I see the limp form of the alpha, a crossbow bolt protruding from his back.   
“Nice shot.” I manage to croak.   
“Kay, are you okay?!” Mac’s alarmed voice cuts through the haze of pain.   
“Peachy.” I breath out. “We should, uh, we should get outta here.” I force my better arm, at this point I’d loathe to call any part of my body ‘good’, and somehow maneuver myself into a sitting position. The world seems to spin, and suddenly Jack’s face takes up the whole of my vision.   
“We need to get you to a hospital.” He says, frowning. I shake my head, only to be rewarded with spots dancing before my eyes.  
“N-no. Too many questions, just get me to my bag, I should be able to set my arm and stitch my leg up.” I blink a couple of times to clear my vision.   
“We should get her to Deaton’s. He should be able to fix her up, and take a look at her shoulder.” Scott’s voice reaches my ears. I’m about to shake my head again, but I catch myself in time. Instead, I snort.   
“That’s even worse. He’d probably just kill me.” Then, I’m suddenly aware of my shoulder. Despite the jolt of pain I had felt when the alpha pounced on me, my shoulder was feeling oddly numb. I finally look down at myself to assess my injuries, and my heart skips a beat. My shoulder is a bloody mess from where the alpha’s teeth tore into it.   
“Wonderful.” I grumble. “When it rains, it pours.”

In the end, we decided I should go to the Argent's’ house, they had the necessary medical equipment for patching myself up. So, I sat myself down in their bathroom with a fully stocked medical kit while Chris dealt with the bodies of the wolves. By the time he checked in to see if I needed help, I had set and splinted my arm and placed it in a sling, I had stitched up the slashes on my ribs and my calf, and I had taped a pad of gauze over my shoulder. However, he insisted on checking over my handiwork, and I was too tired to protest. After a bit of poking and prodding and ‘I’ve done this before’s, I limped out to find Riley, Mac, and Jack waiting on the couch. They were chatting idly with Alison, but jumped up as I emerged.   
“We need to go talk to Derek and Peter about our plan to deal with the revenant.” I say simply, heading for the door. “Thank you for the medical supplies.” I throw over my shoulder as I open the door and head out.   
“Now, hold in there Krysti! You need to rest a couple of days, the revenant can wait.” Jack says.   
“No, somehow, I don’t think the revenant will wait. Tamar knows I'm weak and wounded now, so we can be certain he will attack tonight. We can't delay anymore. We need to go get permission to use the Hale house.” I sigh, continuing out the door.   
“She has a point. The revenant wants her dead, the easiest way to do that would be to strike while she is still recovering.” Chris affirms grimly.   
“Seriously?!” Jack shouts. I wince at the loud noise. “You got bit! Doesn't that mean you’re going to turn into a werewolf? Then you could fight Tamar off! We should focus on holing up somewhere safe.”   
“Jack, Tamar is a werewolf. Being a revenant, he’d probably be stronger and faster than a normal wolf too. Not to mention...” Mac’s voice trails off, and he glances uncertainly to me.   
“What? Not to mention what?” Jack growls, doing a wonderful impression of the alpha I just fought off. I look at my feet.   
“An alpha’s bite usually has a fifty percent chance of ‘taking’ to the bitten person. And then, even if it does ‘take’, a werewolf isn’t the only thing that you can turn into.” Chris explains carefully.   
“Therefore, we should deal with Tamar before we find out what fifty percent I fall into. Now, let's stop wasting time arguing about this, and go.” I snap.   
“Fifty percent?!” Riley gasps.   
“It's hardly the worst odds we’ve faced.” I roll my eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Merry Christmas!!

“You want to what?!” Peter hisses at me.  
“Well, we need an abandoned place to lure Tamar to so we can try to get rid of him with fox-fire. Therefore, the old, already burnt Hale house seems like it's a perfect fit.” I explain calmly.  
“Peter, it’s not like we’re using it.” Derek reasons. He doesn't even look at Peter as he addresses him. In fact, it’s almost like he’s studying me. As his eyes wander to my shoulder, I raise my eyebrow at him.   
“Yeah, but it’s our home. Granted, you seem to be very eager to let people burn it down. This warrants a glare and a low growl from Derek.   
“You can use it. Then, if you survive, we should probably talk about that bite.” Derek says with a nod.   
“Thank you.” I reply, turning to leave.   
“Don’t worry about her surviving. No one stays dead in this town.” Peter drawls. I roll my eyes and leave the Loft. 

Outside, I meet up with Mac. Through great effort, and a bit of help from the Argents, we managed to convince Jack and Riley to stay with the Argents.   
“Alright. We’re good to go.”  
“Wonderful. Time to burn down a building.” He grumbles.   
“Aww, come on. It’s not like it's the first time you’ve done it before.” I tease.   
“What, use fox-fire or burn a building down?” He quirks an eyebrow at me.   
“Both.” He just rolls his eyes and gets in the car. I hop into the passenger seat, and we’re off. It's a silent drive through the reserve, both of us going over our parts of the plan. I look out the window, to see that the sun is hovering over the horizon.  
“I’d say we have about an hour and a half before the sun sets. After that, there’s no telling how long it’ll take Tamar to come after that.” I tell Mac.  
“You sure you’re all right? Doesn’t the bite usually start reacting the night after it’s received?”   
“I honestly don’t know. I think I’m good. I won’t be sleeping, so I’d imagine it’d be easier to keep myself from shifting, or going sleepwalking, or something.” I shrug, leaning my head against the window. The cool glass feels nice against my skin. It’s starting to feel like a very warm evening so hopefully it will be a comfortable temperature tonight. "And you're positive your fire won't hurt you?"   
"Yeah. I'll be fine. Just make sure you're standing far away." He gives a stiff nod. We come to the end of the road, Mac parks the car and we get out.  
"Alright, let's do this thing."

The sun is just setting as we finish the preparations. I find myself wandering around what was probably a kitchen at one point. I observe the cracked tile of the counter top, walking carefully on the sooty floor.   
"So this is what that crazy Argent did?" Mac comes in.  
"Yeah." I nod slowly. "It's just, odd. She was hardly a fanatic, she wasn't the type to try to completely eradicate supernatural life. It doesn't make sense why she would just break the treaty between the Hales and the Argents." I find myself thinking aloud.  
"Trust me, it's best not to go down that path. Some people just do inexplicable things. You'll drive yourself as crazy as them if you try to trace that path." He says softly. I raise an eyebrow.  
"I should trust advice you don't even follow yourself? Don't think I don't notice how you get when you start thinking about Murdoc." I find myself saying.   
"Eh, you got me there." He chuckles a bit. He stiffens. "Something's coming." He says under his breath. I give him a nod, heading over to what was probably the family room. He follows carefully, we've both got our senses on high alert, even though I know Mac will undoubtedly notice anything before me. I tug at the collar of my jacket.   
"Is it just me, or is it really hot?" Mac shoots me a worried glance.  
"It's freezing tonight." He responds. My heart skips a beat.   
"What?"   
"I've got, like, three layers on me and I'm practically shivering." I take a closer look at his attire to see that he's right. He's got a sweater under his leather jacket and over his long-sleeved shirt and his breath is coming out in puffs.  
"Well, shit." I reply. I notice Mac tense and I barely have time to curl protectively around my bad arm before something is slamming into my back. I let the momentum carry me forward into a roll, allowing me to swiftly get to my feet, before throwing myself to the side. A blur crashes through the wall behind me. A dark chuckle emanates from the new hole in the wall.  
"Amazing. Even after everything, you've still got fight left in you. Did you intend to leave your human friends at home while you dealt with me?" Tamar emerges from the whole in the wall, and I get my first full look at him, in more than just the uncertain light of a campfire. "Did you think you were protecting them? Well, don't worry, they will be dealt with soon. Along with that bothersome pack." Is the idiot really going to tell us his plans without any prompting? I decide to see if I can't get him to talk some more by letting a flicker of uncertainty show on my face. His grin grows even larger. "Oh yes, little girl. The alpha your friend killed, he had a sister. A very powerful sister. They will be destroyed, and you will die knowing you let another pack down."   
He stalks towards me, but I throw myself out the window next to me, throwing a small canister of mountain ash at the window, finishing the circle we put around the room. I land in the soft grass, watching Tamar get thrown back by the magical barrier. I watch as smoke starts to rise, and bright red flames start to dance from the corner Mac's in. He's standing in the middle of the flames, untouched, with two ethereal tails swishing back and forth behind him, occasionally brushing against each other to create even more flames. I back away from the house, to the edge of the clearing, just to be safe. I circle back to the car in order to wait for Mac, but when I get there, my heart stops.  
Right next to our car is a very familiar blue jeep.

Before I register what I'm doing, I'm back in the house. Crouching low to avoid the smoke as best as possible, I ignore the raging heat and roaring flames in favor of finding my brother. I creep silently through the so far untouched areas of the house. I find him in the kitchen.   
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" I hiss.  
"I don't know, Lydia just showed up at my door saying we needed to go somewhere, and she gave me directions to the Hale house.   
"The banshee?" Oh, that is never a good sign.  
"Yes, the banshee." A voice says behind me. I jump, turning to see a familiar strawberry blond.   
"Get out of here!" I snarl.  
"You’re not a wolf, nor are we. Growling at us isn't going to get us to do what you want." Lydia says, rolling her eyes. I shoot her an exasperated look.  
"How about this? Get out, or you'll die a painful, fiery death." I hiss, grabbing her and Stiles by their sleeves and dragging them towards the nearest exit. I barely hear a creak of the floorboards behind us, so I shove the two teens at the door, before bracing myself. Tamar slams into me, sending me sprawling, and jolting my arm. I blink away tears, products of the combination of smoke, now pouring into the room, and the sudden agony that comes with landing on a broken arm. I scramble to my feet, dashing after Lydia and Stiles as they manage to rush out of the door. I'm just at the door when I feel an iron grip around my ankle.   
"Kay!" Stiles yells, a wild, terrified look in his eyes as he reaches out to me. Instead, I slam the door closed as Tamar yanks me back. He clamps his hand around the break in my arm, and I choke back a scream.   
"If I'm going to burn, so are you." He hisses in my ear. Wonderful. He starts dragging me backwards, and I attempt to fight as I choke on the smoke, and the pain fogs my mind. I struggle weakly but soon feel the flames licking at my skin. Suddenly the heat is unbearable, I watch in resignation as my skin blisters and cracks. Then the pain fades away to nothingness. At the very least, the fires are so hot they've already killed my nerves. I can’t feel a thing. The last thing I hear is the dark chuckle of the revenant, and the shrill scream of a banshee.

Stiles dashed forward to the door, trying the handle, only to shout in pain as the handle sears his hands. "No! Nononononononono!." He stumbles back a step, before rushing forward to slam against the door.   
"What are you two doing in here?" Stiles and Lydia turn around to see the kitsune, Mac, standing there, covered in soot.   
"Kay! She, I-" Stiles' voice caught in his voice. He gestures uselessly to the door. Mac's eyes widen as he takes in the smoke-filled room, and the now glowing hot handle. He rushes around the house, Stiles and Lydia rushing after him. A quick circle shows that all the doors are either blocked off, or have been treated with the same, glowing hot handle treatment. Finally, Mac stopped in front of the window that Kay had smashed through.   
"Break the circle." Mac growled.  
"What?" Stiles asked, mind still reeling.  
“The mountain ash!” Mac practically yells back. It’s only then that Stiles actually notices the thick line of mountain ash dust on the window.   
“Right, right.” He quickly stumbles over to brush some of the powder away. As soon as that’s done, Mac jumps through the window, straight through the flames.  
“Wait! Doesn’t he know not to run into a burning building?!” Lydia shouts. She looks at Stiles for a response just in time to catch him before he tries to jump in after. “Am I the only one in this town who has any common sense!” She growls at him.   
“She’s in there! Kay’s still in there!” Stiles shouts right back.  
“And she won’t want you to get burnt to a crisp along with that ‘MacGyver’ fellow!” Lydia scolds, dragging Stiles away from the house.   
“But…” Stiles seems to deflate, practically slumping into Lydia’s grip. She notices the tears running down her friend’s face. Lydia continues to drag Stiles back to the jeep, unable to find it in herself to say something to comfort him. As they get to the bright blue jeep, Lydia finds a familiar feeling growing deep in her gut. She glances at Stiles and grits her teeth, determined to keep it in. Blinking back tears, Lydia finds herself squeezing his hand as they stare at the house in flames. Lydia feels the scream clawing its way up her throat. She tries to push it down, to ignore it, to do SOMETHING.  
“Lydia?” Stiles called out, voice catching. He recognized the look on her face. Closing her eyes, Lydia screamed in despair.

Mac froze as the banshee’s scream cut through the roaring of the fire. He could feel his heart skip a beat as the scream seemed to make the flames flare up, hotter and higher than ever. Above him, the beams started cracking, raining ash and soot on him. A resounding ‘crack’ reaches his ears, and Mac dives back out the window. He looks up to see Kay’s brother, Stiles, running towards the collapsing house behind him. He manages to tackle the boy to the ground, holding him. I couldn’t save her, I can to save him, for Kay. Stiles is kicking and screaming under him, but Mac grits his teeth, wrapping the young teen in a constricting hug. A sob tries to work its way out of his throat, but he forces it down for now.  
“We… We should get out of here.” Mac manages to croak. Blinking the tears away, Mac carefully hauls Stiles to his feet, making sure the kid won’t try to throw himself into the fire.   
“It’s my fault.” Stiles sobs, collapsing back to his knees.  
“No, Stiles, it’s not your fault.” Lydia says, hugging Stiles’ shaking form. “It’s mine, I dragged you out here, and insisted we go into the house to investigate. I- If I hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t have had to save us. She would still be here.” Stiles looks up to her tear-stained face.  
“No, it’s not your fault, you can’t blame yourself, Lydia.” Stiles sniffles. “I- I- I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve realized that they were here to get rid of the revenant.”   
“It’s neither of your faults.” Mac scolds. “She wouldn’t want you blaming anyone. She chose what to do what she did. You’re just kids, you can’t always be responsible for every life in this town.” His voice catches. “None of us should be blaming ourselves.” If only any of them could believe it. 

Jack took the news with a solemn nod. He knew the dangers of the job, and he knew Kay did too. The Argents gave their condolences. Riley excused herself for a moment to process the news. As Riley retired to bed, Mac and Jack sat in silence, mourning the loss of another of their original team. Tomorrow, they’d call Matty to let her know what happened.

Stiles came home, still sobbing, and somehow John simply knew. He wrapped Stiles in a hug, tears streaming down his own face. They sat like that through the night.


	18. Chapter 18

_Fire. All I can see is flame. All I can hear is the roar of the fire. My lungs are full of smoke and heat, the only scent is that of smoke and charred flesh. But I feel nothing. Is this what the Hales felt?_

Mac found himself staring at the sunrise out the Argent window. The two had been kind enough to let them stay the night. The Stilinski’s deserved to grieve in private. Soft footsteps made their way towards him, but Mac didn't turn around.  
"How old was she?" Chris' voice asks softly.  
"Seventeen." Mac offers quietly.  
"They were twins?" Chris gasps.  
"Yeah." Mac nods, eyes locked on the horizon. "Do you have any idea who that alpha was?"  
"No. Is it important?" Chris responds.  
"Tamar... He said that the alpha had a sister that would be out for revenge. A powerful sister." Chris hums in thought.  
"I'll ask around, see if any trouble's stirring up." Chris nods.  
“Thank you.” Mac manages. There’s a moment of silence before Chris speaks up.  
“It’s the least I can do.” With that Chris leaves silently.  
“It’s not your fault.” Jack says pointedly. Mac turns to him, unconvinced.  
“If I had just been a little faster-“  
“You might’ve gotten killed trying to fight off that revenant. Then where would we be? Mourning the loss of two lives rather than one? Look, Kay wouldn’t want you torn up over this!” Jack hissed, trying not to wake up Riley in the next room.  
“Let’s just get this over with and get out of this hellhole.” Mac growled. Jack frowned as his friend, no, brother walked away, guilt obviously weighing on his shoulders. They call Matty to tell her the bad news.

_I can feel his claws digging into me. He’s thrashing under me. His healing must be making this agony for him. Serves him right. I can only hope this will be over soon._

“It’s all my fault!” Stiles yells. Tears are streaming down his face. John has his son wrapped in a bear hug.  
“No it isn’t. This isn’t your fault bud.” John says, fighting back his own sobs.  
“If I hadn’t gone in… If I had just waited…” Stiles’ shoulders were shaking. John momentarily released Stiles from the hug, grabbing his son’s shoulders to look him in the eyes.  
“Listen to me Stiles. This is NOT your fault. It’s that bastard, Tamar’s fault. Maybe even its this ‘Goblin King’s fault. But. It. Is. Not. Your. Fault.” Despite the conviction in his father’s voice, Stiles couldn’t be convinced.

_I can feel my strength fading, my life leaving. I can still feel Tamar’s claws on me, but even his grip is loosening. He’s stopped thrashing. That’s a relief. Now, maybe, I can just have a bit of peace._

“So, what now?” Riley’s voice is hollow.  
“We finish the mission. Kay-“ Mac’s voice cracks on the name, “Kay would want us to finish the mission and grieve after. We need to deal with the alpha’s sister and then go home.”  
“What about the Nemeton?” Jack brings up carefully.  
“Nemetons are ancient magic, without a dragon, phoenix, or unicorn there’s nothing we can do. Let’s just tie up the loose ends and get out of here.” Mac reasons. Jack nods in understanding.  
“How do you guys do it?” Riley asks quietly. Mac and Jack share a look.  
“We do it in the unhealthiest way possible. We just ignore the feelings until we’re done with the mission.” Jack sighs.  
“She was just a teenager…” Riley’s voice trails off and once again Jack and Mac met each other’s eyes. They came to a silent agreement. The bastards that did this were going to pay.

_Despite the roar of the fire around me it seems quiet. I could just sleep. Sleep…_

“I- Stiles… I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t-“ Lydia tries.  
“No.” Stiles interrupts. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. Neither of us did. We need to find out who was behind this. We need to find out who this ‘Goblin King’ is. We’ll make him pay.

_**No.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's still a little bit left to go in this story, but I have an idea for a sequel. It would focus more on the secret agent life in MacGyver rather than the supernatural world in Teen Wolf that this story sees. The feedback I get will determine whether I go through with writing it or not.


	19. Chapter 19

“Witherow.” Chris tells them.  
“What?” Mac asks.  
“The alpha that attacked. His name was Witherow. His pack is from Texas. His sister was the pack’s emissary. However, its suspected that she wasn’t quite a druid. Maybe a darach or a witch, but I don’t know that for sure. One thing all my contacts could agree on though; she’s a real nasty piece of work. She’s definitely powerful, and definitely the type to take revenge for her family.” Mac nodded thoughtfully.   
“I’ve heard of the Witherow pack. In fact, I’ve heard people say that they’re the closest wolves can get to feral without actually being feral. Could be because of their emissary.”  
“So how are we going to do this? What kind of trap can work on an emissary?” Jack asks, brow furrowing.  
“Well, theoretically, an emissary is a human, but if the rumors are correct then this emissary isn’t quite human. We shouldn’t bank on that thought, but we should keep it in mind. We should approach this as if she was a human, but have contingencies for someone very well versed in magic.” Mac thought aloud. “She’ll probably come after us during the night. There’s not much we can do about that. We can, however, chose where to confront her. We would want somewhere where we can limit casualties, but without much nature if she’s a druid. A large clearing should do. Maybe-“ Mac cut himself off, wide eyed.  
“You’re not saying…” Chris asks.   
“It’s really the best option. It meets the criteria…” Mac sighs.   
“What are they talking about?” Riley asks Jack.  
“Riles, I wish I knew.” Jack grumbles.  
“You’ll want to consult Deaton about the best ways to protect yourself against magic.” Chris continues, ignoring Jack and Riley.  
“Of course, he might not want to help.” Mac nearly growls.   
“If this emissary is dangerous, he’ll be willing to help.” Chris says, though he doesn’t sound too confident.   
“Alright then! I think we need to go to the vet’s!” Jack says.

Mac watches carefully as Deaton gives a sigh when they walk in the door.  
“I told you, I don’t want anything to do with your friend.” He says calmly.  
“Then you don’t have to worry.” Mac replies coldly. Deaton’s brow furrows in momentary confusion. Then it dawns on him.  
“The revenant?”   
“It’s gone.” Is all the answer Jack gives him.  
“Why are you here then?” Deaton asks.  
“We need to know the best way to defend against, or even contain or nullify magic. The Witherow Pack’s emissary is going to come get revenge for her brother, and we need to be ready for her.” Deaton’s eyes widen slightly at Mac’s words. He nods thoughtfully.  
“Of course. Come back here, I’ll do my best to help you.” He says, stepping back and opening the swinging door for them. Mac, Jack, Riley, and Chris all follow Deaton to the back rooms of the veterinary clinic. “From what I’ve heard, the Witherow’s emissary, Sarah, is a witch. Cold iron would be the best way to contain her. I have some old shackles back here.” Deaton starts to ruffle through his equipment. “As for protection against her magic, I can’t offer much. Just, under no circumstances, let her know your names. Names are powerful when used in magic. I wish I could help you more, but this is all I can offer.” Deaton hands over a set of manacles. They send a shiver down Mac’s spine as he takes the iron cuffs from the druid. “Good luck.”

“Have you ever gone up against witches?” Jack asks Chris as they’re walking back to the Argents’ house.   
“Not personally, no. My father though…” Chris’ voice trails off. “Well, he certainly did.” His voice sounds bitter at the mention of his father. “I don’t know much, but I know that you’ve either got to take her out right at the beginning, or else you’ve got to find a way to stay alive long enough to wear her out. Once witches start flinging spells around, well, they’re nearly impossible to take out.”  
“Well, thank you for all the help, but we’d better get to the Hale house to figure out how the heck to get ready for this witch.” Jack says.  
“Well, you’ll need help.” Chris says, hefting a crossbow.

Despite many attempts at talking Chris out of it, Mac, Jack, and Chris find themselves back at the smoldering ruins of the Hale house.  
“Wait, why are we here?” Jack asks.  
“It fits all the requirements…” Mac explains. “It’s isolated, and a fairly large clearing devoid of much plant life. It’s the best option.” Mac glares at the ruins.  
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Jack grumbles.  
“This really doesn’t sound like a good idea.” Riley pipes in over the comms.  
“It may not be a good idea, but it’s the best we’ve got.” Chris reasons. “Now, how are we going to do this? Witches aren’t exactly affected by mountain ash or wolfsbane.”   
“Well, we’ve got to find a way to get the cold iron shackles on that witch before anything happens.” Mac starts.  
“Which is easier said than done.” Jack points out.  
“Yeah, well we just need to keep her distracted long enough for me to sneak up behind her and get her.” Mac says.  
“Since when are things ever that simple?” Riley asks.  
“Look, there’s not much we can do without more info on this witch.” Mac reasons. “We’re just going to have to go with a simple plan and be ready to think on our feet.”  
“Is this what your guys’ plans usually consist of?” Chris asks.  
“Well, usually we have more intel on the baddies.” Jack defends.  
“Fair enough.” Chris shrugs. He glances at the collapsed ruins of the Hale house.” I just wish there were somewhere else we could do this. Nothing good ever seems to happen here.”   
“No kidding…” Jack grumbles.   
“Guys, maybe you should spend less time grumbling and more time figuring out what the heck you’re going to do!” Riley interrupts.  
"Your friend is right. How are we," Chris motions to Jack and himself, "supposed to distract a, supposedly, incredibly powerful witch so much that she doesn't notice that you are putting cold iron shackles on her? I think she'd notice if you were putting on magic-containing cuffs on her.  
"Therein lies the problem. And for this problem I'm going to borrow a solution. Setting off the wolfsbane smoke bombs might do the trick. It'll obscure the witch's vision, letting me get closer to her. She might even get overconfident, she could think that we don't know how to deal with a witch." Mac says, pulling the homemade smoke bombs out of his bag.  
"That's a lot of 'mights.'" Chris says, catching the smoke bomb that Mac tosses him.  
"That's all we have, unless you know anything else about witches that can help us." Jack defends.  
"No, you're right. That's the best way to do this. I just wish there were more we could do to turn this fight in our favor."   
"Well, you could call the pack." Riley suggests.   
"NO!" Mac, Jack, and Chris yell.  
"We aren't putting any more kids in danger Riles." Jack says.  
"Hey, it was just a suggestion." Riley responds dully. "Maybe you guys should think of, like, codenames or something. After all, the vet dude said to not let the witch know your names."  
"Only on the condition that Jack doesn't come up with them." Mac says, playfully jabbing Jack with his elbow.  
"Oh, come on man! You know that if I come up with the codenames then they're going to be awesome!" Jack returns with a playful smack of his own. Chris shakes his head.  
"Let's just keep it simple. Fox," he motions to Mac, "Agent," pointing at Jack, "and Hunter." Pointing a thumb at himself.   
"If we were keeping it simple, Jack would be Idiot." Riley comments.  
"No, no, I wouldn't. I would be Pure Awesomeness."   
"I think those are fine codes, Chris." Mac says, rolling his eyes.   
"We should probably start using them then, Fox, to get into the mindset of codenames." Chris reasons. Mac just shrugs in response.  
"Fine by me, Hunter."  
"Yeah, whatever." Jack nods. Chris glances at the sky.  
"Let's get ready, we only have a couple hours before sunset."

Mac decided to hide a fair way away from the clearing that the Hale house was located in to make sure that the witch wouldn’t be able to sense him near. He was confident that he could get to the clearing within seconds, so now all he had to do was sit and wait. The sun was almost set. Mac sat there, eyes and ears open to all the sounds and sights of the reserve, listening for the witch.  
It wasn’t long after the sun had finally set that he finally heard any sign of the witch. It was the faintest whisper of movement. Cloth sliding over the ground, probably with some sort of sound dampening spell, but Mac heard it. He stayed perfectly still. In this darkness, the witch would have to stumble right into him to find him. He listened, following the witch’s progress to the ruins of the Hale house.   
“Hello little fox.”

Jack and Chris waited silently at the Hale house. Neither talked, they were both professionals. They knew their jobs and they knew they needed to be ready at any moment. They watched as the sun set, eyes and ears straining to give them any warning of the oncoming threat. That, however, would prove to be a useless gesture.  
“Dis.” The word echoed around the clearing and Jack and Chris found themselves slammed against trees. Both men quickly got to their feet. Jack lit one of the smoke grenades and threw it into the center of the clearing. They Jack and Chris rushed to get into the cover of the smoke. A cold, mirthless laughter resonated from all around them, as if the trees themselves were laughing.  
“Did you think a little smoke would stop me? You poor, silly humans. You’ll need a lot more than that to stop me.” The voice was cold, yet beautiful. As Jack heard it he couldn’t help but think: She’s right. We have no chance against this lady. There’s so much we don’t know.  
“Don’t listen to her. I think she’s using some sort of spell to get into our heads.” Chris’ hushed voice cut through the thoughts. Jack shook his head lightly and moved to stand back to back with Chris.  
“Alright lady! Stop it with the Jedi mind tricks and maybe we’ll go easy on you!” Jack shouted. Jack strained his senses to try to catch any hint of where the witch may be, but he couldn’t get a fix on her location.  
“You, Argent, are going to pay for what you did to my brother.” Jack felt Chris stiffen at the mention of his name. Shit. She knows his name! Jack got his handgun ready, looking for anything to shoot at.  
“Angebant eum!” The spell echoed throughout the fog. Behind him, Jack heard Chris choke. He whirled around, freezing for a precious second at what he saw. The smoke seemed to be forming tendrils, and they were wrapped around Chris’ neck. The smoke was also pooling around the Argent’s mouth and nose. Chris reached up, scrabbling at his neck but his hands just went through the smoke. Jack’s mind whirled as he tried to think of something to do. Unfortunately, he only had one tactic for this situation.  
“I hate to burst your bubble, lady, but I killed your bro. He bit one of my friends, and I didn’t appreciate it. So, guess what? Bang, bang! Two wolfsbane bullets straight through the heart.” Jack yelled out. Chris collapsed to his knees as the tendrils dissipated. Jack rushed out of the fog to hopefully prevent the same treatment. “I betcha you’ll go down even easier than that pushover. Honestly, it was ridiculous how easy he went down. And he had the jump on us. By all means, he should’ve had the advantage.” Jack continued. Mac, where the heck are you brother?!  
“You!?” The word was laced with malice. “You killed him?!” The witch’s voice was filled with rage. “I will tear you, limb from limb!” A strong wind seemed to come from nowhere, clearing out the smoke from around them.  
“Heh, lady, you’re not the first person to want to do that. And guess what? I’m still here.” Jack met Chris’ eyes and Chris gave him a nod of thanks. ‘Be careful’ he mouthed. Chris picked up his crossbow and readied himself.   
“You cannot defeat me, I will kill you!” A lady emerged from the tree line. She was wearing a simple, black gown. She was pale, so pale she almost appeared to glow in the moonlight. She had long, dark hair. It was so long that it fell just shy of her knees. She had a beauty mark on her slender neck, right under her chin. Chris and Jack simultaneously fired at her, but both the bolt and the bullet seemed to phase harmlessly through the lady.   
“Liga eam!” She waved her arm at the two men. Jack went on autopilot, instinctively diving to the side and rolling to his feet. He turned to see roots sprouting from where he just stood. The roots were writhing like tentacles, and they dove at Jack again. This time, however, Jack wasn’t fast enough. Though he jumped to the side, one of the roots wrapped around his ankle. Jack barely had a second to register that he was falling before the roots had completely entangled him. He could barely manage to wiggle his fingers. Mac should be here by now. Jack didn’t let the worry that was gnawing in his gut show on my face. Why isn’t he here? I shouldn’t have let him go out on his own.  
“Ah, I see. Getting to the root of the problem.” Jack didn’t feel particularly witty, but anything to buy a little more time. Hopefully Mac had only hit a minor snag. “Listen, your brother got my friend killed, so let’s just call it even.” Jack had no intention to let this witch get away, but hey, maybe she’d buy it. Instead, the lady chuckled.  
“Trying to stall so that your little pet fox can chain me up with these?” She held the cold iron manacles gingerly, pinched between two fingers. Jack felt his heart drop to his stomach. The witch waved her hands, and more roots emerged from the tree line. Jack’s breath caught in his throat. Mac hung limply, suspended between two roots. His shirt was soaked in blood where a third was protruding from his side. The witch tossed the manacles into the ruins of the Hale house.  
“Ma-“ Jack caught himself just in time. The witch smiled. Jack met her eyes with a glare of his own.   
“Not so cocky anymore, hmm?” She asks. Jack simply growls at her. “Comminuet eas.” Jack gasped as the tree roots tightened around him.   
“Arrgh!” On the far side of the clearing Chris was clearly getting the same treatment. Jack bit back a groan as the roots continued to squeeze him. Jack felt his ribs bending under the stress. They would give soon. Jack tried to think of a way out of this but nothing came to mind. Suddenly, a howl cut through the night. The witch’s head snapped toward the direction that the howl came from, a sneer on her face. As soon as her head turned, Jack watched with wide eyes as Stiles stepped out of the woods. The boy held a knife in his hand as he rushed towards the witch. A burst of pain whited out his vision as one, or maybe more he wasn’t quite sure, of his ribs finally broke. Suddenly he was kneeling on the ground, arm curling protectively around his middle. He was vaguely aware of the witch screaming.   
Once Jack’s vision cleared he took in all of the scene simultaneously. Mac was also on the ground, still unconscious but Jack could see the hole in his side closing. Chris was also on his knees, but he seemed to have fared better than Jack in the ribs department. The other boy, Scott, was rushing into the clearing, eyes glowing red, claws extended. And finally, Stiles stood over the witch, knife in one hand and some sort of fur or something in his other. A further moment of examination allowed Jack to identify just what it was. Hair. Meanwhile, the witch was hunched over on her knees, scrabbling at her new haircut.  
“No! You little-” The witch turned and lunged at Stiles, and he stumbled back. Scott, however, caught the witch, holding her arms back.  
“Nice job Stiles!” Scott said, grinning. Stiles’ eyes widened in alarm.  
“Dude, what did I tell you about names?!” He hissed, backing away from the witch.  
“But you cut her hair!” He said frowning. Everyone glanced at the witch, taking in her scowl.  
“E Stile in corde rip!” She yelled.   
“Argh!!” Stiles stumbled backwards, towards the ruins. Jack watched in horror as a red flower seemed to bloom on his shirt. The bloodstain emanated from his chest, right at his heart.  
“NO!” Scott roared. As he was distracted, the witch pushed him off. She grabs the knife that Stiles dropped, digging it into Scott’s gut and twisting. Scott roared in pain again. The witch was laughing maniacally now. Jack hears the twang of Chris’ crossbow. The bolt flew straight at her chest, but at the last minute seemed to curve sideways and dig into her shoulder. She stumbles backwards, into the ruins of the Hales house. Behind her, a figure springs out of the charred ruins, holding a gleaming set of manacles. The figure quickly locks them around the witch’s wrists, binding her. Jack watched, eyes widening even further as Krystiana stood up, trying to brush soot off of her charred clothes.   
“Kay?” Jack managed to whisper.  
“Stiles!” She rushed over to where the boy collapsed. The witch started laughing.   
“At least I got one of you miserable idiots!” The witch proclaimed.   
“We need to get him to a hospital. Scott!” She looked over to see the wolf pulling the knife from his gut, unable to stand. “Shit.” She gathered Stile’s limp body in her arms and seemed to disappear in a blur.


	20. Chapter 20

No. I can’t die. I just got to meet my family for real I cannot just give up. But my mind seems hazy. I can’t quite think. Where am I? There is a fire. No, there was a fire. It died out. Why is it so hot? The fire. Duh. We were fighting something. A wolf? That’s right. It was a wolf, but a revenant. The fire. Mac used his fox fire. I… Why didn’t I get out? Someone was there with us. Someone I didn’t expect.  
“ _E Stiles in corde rip!_ ” The words seem to cut through the fog in my mind. I bite back a groan. I hear a commotion, but it all seems so hazy still. I’m buried. It must be the rubble of the Hale’s house. Suddenly I’m aware of something different touching my hand. Not brittle wood, but unforgiving iron. Cold Iron. My mind fills in the gaps. A witch. That must be the alpha’s sister. Mac, Jack, they must be facing the witch. Stiles. Suddenly the words I heard caught up to my brain. Rip Stile’s heart out. STILES! Something’s standing over me. I clench my fist around the iron. It’s a chain… No, it’s a set of manacles. I tense, before pushing on the debris over me with all my might. It seems lighter than it should be. I throw the debris off, quickly chaining the witch that was standing over me.  
“Kay?” Jack seems to shout. I ignore him. He’s breathing. I don’t see any blood on him. Behind him, Mac is unconscious, shirt covered in blood. But he’s a fox, he should be fine.  
“Stiles!” I yell. I scan around the clearing for him but I can’t see him.  
“At least I got one of you miserable idiots!” The witch says. I can practically hear the smile in her words. I’m about to turn around and snap her neck before I hear something. It’s a heartbeat. Its faint, but there. Nearly right in front of me. Then I see him. My heart skips a beat. There’s blood all over his shirt. He’s pale, much too pale. I can’t see his chest moving, he’s not breathing.  
“We need to get him to a hospital. Scott!” The werewolf would be able to run the fastest since Mac was unconscious last I check. I look to see the wolf pulling a knife from his stomach. “Shit.” I mutter. Out of everyone in the clearing I seem to be in the best shape. I carefully grab Stiles in my arms and sprint off.

The run passes in a blur, and soon I’m at the emergency room. I rush through the doors.  
“Oh my god, what happened?!” A nurse rushes to me, and soon the room is a flurry of activity. I have to convince myself to let them take Stiles. His heart’s barely beating, but I focus on it as they take him away to help him. I hear it falter, then stop completely and I’m on my feet. I’m rushing to his room, but then I hear it again. I don’t know how long it is, but I stay fixated on Stiles’ heartbeat.  
“He’ll be fine. He’s stable now.” I jump as a nurse comes up behind me. I whirl around to see Melissa McCall behind me. “Are you…” She hesitates for a moment, clearly thinking of what to say. “Are you Krystiana.”  
“I- yeah, that’s me. I don’t have John’s number, do you-“  
“Of course. Do you want to let him know, or do you want me?” She asks softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I fight the urge to tense up, or shrug it off.  
“I should probably let him know.” She nods, bringing me over to the desk and writing down the number.  
“I’ll make sure the rooms clear for visitors by the time you get back.” I nod numbly at her words. John picks up on the first ring.  
“Hello?” His voice seems strained.  
“John, it’s me, Kay.”  
“Oh my god! Kay you’re alive! Thank god, how are you still alive? Where’s Stiles, does he know?” The torrent of questions seems so familiar, yet so wrong coming from him.  
“I- he… We’re at the hospital. He’s stable. I’m not quite sure what happened, but you should get down here and…” I wasn’t sure what.  
“I’m on my way.” He hangs up. I place the phone back on the receiver. I walk to the room, following the sound of Stiles’ weak heartbeat. I’m halfway down the hall when it hits me.  
I can hear his heartbeat. My hand flies to my right arm, even though I know it’s fine. The bite and the break are healed. Shit. I make my way to Stiles room in a daze, I open the door to see Stiles lying in the hospital bed, Melissa checking over him.  
“John is on his way, he’ll probably be here in half an hour.” I find myself saying. Melissa snorts in response.  
“Less than that. He’ll probably break a few speed limits. I suppose you’ll want to wait until he gets here to explain what the hell happened.” I nod. If only I knew what the hell happened. I feel my chest tighten, but I refuse to let the panic swell. I focus on Stile’s breathing, matching the slow, calm breaths. I reassure myself with his heartbeat, which is growing stronger by the minute. Suddenly the door opens and John comes in the room.  
“Oh my god.” He breathes out. I wince as I hear it clear as day. He looks to Melissa, who just shrugs, then to me. He lets the door click closed behind him before asking.  
“What the hell happened. How are you alive. How did he…” John starts.  
“I- I don’t know the whole story. I just… I woke up in the Hale house. I heard the witch cast a spell to rip out Stiles’ heart. He had just cut her hair, so I guess she wanted to get back at him. I managed to put cold iron on the witch, but not before the spell hit. I rushed Stiles here.” John holds up his hands in the time-out sign.  
“Hold up. What witch? Why would she want to kill Stiles for cutting her hair? Was she that vain? And what the hell is cold iron? Why was Stiles there in the first place?” John practically growls the questions out. Unlike usual, my mind races to keep up with the questions.  
“The witch was the Alpha’s sister, the one that attacked us. The one that…” I struggle to get the words out. John’s brows furrow in confusion, before he realizes where the sentence was headed. I decide to finish it anyway. “The one that bit me. Argent killed it. Tamar told us that the alpha had a powerful sister that would want revenge. Mac and Jack must have gone out to confront her. I don’t think they would have taken Stiles with them though.”  
“He said he was going to a pack meeting?!” John practically yells.  
“Shhhh.” Melissa tries to placate him.  
“As for the hair,” I continue. “Well, a witch’s power comes from her hair. By cutting it off, he took away most of her magic abilities. The cold iron restraints would have taken it away completely.”  
“If that’s so, why is my son lying in a hospital bed?!” John hisses at me, and it takes all of my willpower not to flinch.  
“I- I’m not sure. The witch must have found out his name. Names have power, and regardless of hair, using someone’s name in a spell to kill them should’ve worked near instantaneously.” Suddenly it hits me. My face pales as I think about what could’ve happened. “Oh, god. This could’ve been so much worse.”  
“Oh yeah, how? My SON is lying unconscious in a hospital bed.” John snarls.  
“Sherriff, he’s alive. And he’s stable.” Melissa tries.  
“It could’ve been worse it she had heard Stiles’ real name. If Stiles didn’t go by a nickname…” I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence. John sinks into the chair.  
“What about you?” John asks. I frown, trying to figure out what he wants to know. Oh. How am I alive.  
“I’m not sure. The fox fire shouldn’t have stopped until I was dead. I don’t really remember much after the fire started though. It’s all hazy.” I frown trying to remember what I had pieced together right after I woke up. “Stiles was there. He said the banshee, Lydia, told him they needed to get to the Hale house. I saw them sneaking into the house after Mac started the fox fire.” I close my eyes, trying to grasp the memories. “I went in after them. I got them out, but Tamar grabbed me before I could get out. The last thing I remember is hearing a scream. The banshee’s scream. Then I woke up to the whole witch affair.”  
“Could the bite have saved you?” Melissa asks.  
“I doubt it. Being a werewolf didn’t exactly save the Hales, and they were dealing with normal fire, not fox fire.” I shrug. Suddenly, John wraps me up in a giant hug. I stiffen, before relaxing into the embrace.  
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” He mumbles in my ear.  
“I just wish Stiles wasn’t lying in that bed.” I whisper back.  
“At least you’re both alive.”  
“Barely.” Melissa grumbles under her breath.  
“Now that you’re here, I should probably head back to the Hale house to make sure everyone else is okay.” I announce. John gives me a nod, and I walk out.

It only takes me a few minutes to get back to the Hale house. In those few minutes, I realized why the sprint to the hospital had seemed to pass in a blur. Whatever the bite had done to me, I was fast. Despite the handful of miles between the hospital and the Hale house it was a quick journey for me on foot. I skidded to a stop in the clearing. Immediately, Jack and Chris had their weapons trained on me. I put my hands up as they lower their weapons.  
“I promise I’m not a bloodthirsty zombie. Outside of that, I’m not sure.” I try to lighten the mood. “How’s Mac?” As if on cue Mac groans and sits up.  
“Kay?!” He gasps. “What happened?” He frowns.  
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Jack grumbles.  
“Where’s Stiles? Is he alright?” Scott interrupts. I ignore him for a moment, turning to the witch. She has a triumphant gleam in her eye. Anger burns in my gut, but I don't let it show. She hurt Stiles... I keep my face an emotionless mask.  
"Sarah, right?" I ask her. She flinches at the mention of her name, but says nothing. She doesn't need to. "Stiles was my brother."  
"And Sam was mine." She spits. "What are you going to tell me? An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?" She laughs mirthlessly. I shrug.  
"That may be true, but I've been taught how to fight blind." With a flick of my wrist I bury a knife in her throat. Scott roars.  
"What was that for?!" He storms up to me.  
"She hurt Stiles." I reply coolly.  
"But that doesn't..." My words finally catch up to him. "Hurt?"  
“Yeah, I got him to the hospital in time. He’s in a stable condition."  
"Then why'd you..." He motions vaguely to the witch's corpse.  
"Because after what we did to her, she deserved to go thinking she had at least a small victory." I reason. And she hurt Stiles. I mentally shrug. I don't need to say that.  
"You still didn't need to kill her!" Once again, he's got the 'kicked puppy' look on his face. This time I shrug for real.  
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. That doesn't matter. You couldn't have stopped me, so you shouldn't worry about my choices." I turn to the rest of the group, who are watching silently. "I’ll fill you guys in on the way to the hospital?” I suggest. They all nod. 

I fill them in as much as possible on the walk back.  
“So it’s my fault Stiles is hurt?” Scott asks guiltily.  
“No, it’s the witch’s fault. And you’re the reason he’s alive and stable.” Mac replies.  
“He wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I hadn’t said his name!” Scott nearly roars.  
"Yeah, you're right. He wouldn't have gotten hurt. But someone else could've gotten a lot worse than hurt. Witches... They're tough. Even without their hair they can work some nasty magic. By letting her think she won something, she was more willing to lose. In the end, everyone is alive." I tell him.  
"Except for her." Scott says glumly. I sigh, deciding to drop the topic.  
"Your mom," I motion to Scott, "and my dad are with him right now." I inform them. "We should probably..." I trail off as I see Jack grinning widely at me. I raise an eyebrow at him.  
"You just called him dad." Somehow, Jack's grin grows even wider as he says it.  
"So I did." I reply. I decide he's probably a bit too happy for our good. "Shouldn't you update Riley on the situation. It's almost comical how quickly his mood changes. His face pales and his mouth is opened in a silent 'o'.  
"Yeah, I should do that." He says, nodding vigorously. He pulls out his phone and remains outside.  
"I should probably go check on my daughter." Chris says, waving goodbye.  
"Thanks for all the help." Mac says, sincerely. Chris nods in acknowledgment, walking off.  
“Well, let’s go see how Stiles is doing.” I say, walking through the doors.

I sat, lounging in one of the hospital’s chairs. Mrs. McCall took Scott home when her shift was over, arguing that Stiles is fine now and Scott had school the next morning. A couple minutes later Riley had come in. My ribs still ache from the hug she gave me. After a couple of hours, Mac, Jack, and Riley left Dad and me in the hospital room to wait for Stiles to wake up. Now he was snoring softly in the chair next to me. This gave me some much-needed time to think about what the hell just happened.  
How am I alive right now? Just what did that bite turn me into? Why didn’t it turn me into something I know about?! What in the world is going on right now? My train of thoughts are interrupted as my dad shifts in his sleep. My dad. When did he go from ‘John’ to ‘Dad’? As I pondered it, I realized that was the one question I could answer.  
He became ‘Dad’ to me when I thought I wouldn’t get to ever call him that. I find myself staring at Stiles. My brother. A fire seems to burst to life in my chest. Too many emotions at once for me to identify. Pride, guilt, hurt, happiness, contentedness, but most of all; love. I’m surprised to find tears threatening to spill from my eyes.  
“I promise, I will do all that I can to prevent this kind of thing from happening ever again.” I whisper to the sleeping occupants of the room. The warmth seems to spread throughout my body as I listen to the breathing and heartbeat of my family. I reach over, carefully grabbing Stiles’ hand in mine.  
Suddenly the warmth turns into a burning, condensing into a ball of pain right above my heart. My breath catches in my throat at the unexpected change. I try to let go of Stiles’ hand, but my arm seems to be frozen in place. A different warmth seems to travel down my arm, into Stiles. The burning continues to grow, until it feels like someone is stabbing a searing knife into my chest. I try to take in a breath to steady myself, but my lungs refuse to respond. Next to me, I hear Stiles gasp and Dad start awake. All the warmth seems to leave me, except for the burning in my chest. I stagger back a few steps.  
Someone’s saying something, but I can’t concentrate enough to decipher the words that reach my ears. I reach up to clutch at my chest and my fingers come back coated in blood. My legs give out as a new wave of pain courses through my body. I feel the hard floor crash against my knees, or maybe it’s the other way around, I can’t tell. Finally, the pain starts to subside and I manage to take a breath of fresh air. I gulp down the cool air as fast as my lungs will allow.  
“-ear me? Kay? Kay! Nurse!” I’m finally aware enough to hear the frantic yells of my dad.  
“I’m fine.” I croak. “I-I’m fine now.”  
“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!” Stiles yells. I look over to see Stiles sitting up in the hospital bed.  
“Wh- What? You’re awake? What just happened?” I manage to ask once I’ve caught my breath.  
“I don’t know, I just woke up and you were glowing! The room started to heat up and Stiles sat up and then you started bleeding!” Dad practically yells.  
“I- What? I was glowing?” My mind is racing suddenly. The heat, the fire, the burning… Could it be? What are the odds of this? Am I…  
Am I a phoenix?


	21. Chapter 21

No. I can’t die. I just got to meet my family for real I cannot just give up. But my mind seems hazy. I can’t quite think. Where am I? There is a fire. No, there was a fire. It died out. Why is it so hot? The fire. Duh. We were fighting something. A wolf? That’s right. It was a wolf, but a revenant. The fire. Mac used his fox fire. I… Why didn’t I get out? Someone was there with us. Someone I didn’t expect.  
“E Stiles in corde rip!” The words seem to cut through the fog in my mind. I bite back a groan. I hear a commotion, but it all seems so hazy still. I’m buried. It must be the rubble of the Hale’s house. Suddenly I’m aware of something different touching my hand. Not brittle wood, but unforgiving iron. Cold Iron. My mind fills in the gaps. A witch. That must be the alpha’s sister. Mac, Jack, they must be facing the witch. Stiles. Suddenly the words I heard caught up to my brain. Rip Stile’s heart out. STILES! Something’s standing over me. I clench my fist around the iron. It’s a chain… No, it’s a set of manacles. I tense, before pushing on the debris over me with all my might. It seems lighter than it should be. I throw the debris off, quickly chaining the witch that was standing over me.  
“Kay?” Jack seems to shout. I ignore him. He’s breathing. I don’t see any blood on him. Behind him, Mac is unconscious, shirt covered in blood. But he’s a fox, he should be fine.  
“Stiles!” I yell. I scan around the clearing for him but I can’t see him.  
“At least I got one of you miserable idiots!” The witch says. I can practically hear the smile in her words. I’m about to turn around and snap her neck before I hear something. It’s a heartbeat. Its faint, but there. Nearly right in front of me. Then I see him. My heart skips a beat. There’s blood all over his shirt. He’s pale, much too pale. I can’t see his chest moving, he’s not breathing.  
“We need to get him to a hospital. Scott!” The werewolf would be able to run the fastest since Mac was unconscious last I check. I look to see the wolf pulling a knife from his stomach. “Shit.” I mutter. Out of everyone in the clearing I seem to be in the best shape. I carefully grab Stiles in my arms and sprint off.

The run passes in a blur, and soon I’m at the emergency room. I rush through the doors.  
“Oh my god, what happened?!” A nurse rushes to me, and soon the room is a flurry of activity. I have to convince myself to let them take Stiles. His heart’s barely beating, but I focus on it as they take him away to help him. I hear it falter, then stop completely and I’m on my feet. I’m rushing to his room, but then I hear it again. I don’t know how long it is, but I stay fixated on Stiles’ heartbeat.  
“He’ll be fine. He’s stable now.” I jump as a nurse comes up behind me. I whirl around to see Melissa McCall behind me. “Are you…” She hesitates for a moment, clearly thinking of what to say. “Are you Krystiana.”  
“I- yeah, that’s me. I don’t have John’s number, do you-“  
“Of course. Do you want to let him know, or do you want me?” She asks softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I fight the urge to tense up, or shrug it off.  
“I should probably let him know.” She nods, bringing me over to the desk and writing down the number.  
“I’ll make sure the rooms clear for visitors by the time you get back.” I nod numbly at her words. John picks up on the first ring.  
“Hello?” His voice seems strained.  
“John, it’s me, Kay.”  
“Oh my god! Kay you’re alive! Thank god, how are you still alive? Where’s Stiles, does he know?” The torrent of questions seems so familiar, yet so wrong coming from him.  
“I- he… We’re at the hospital. He’s stable. I’m not quite sure what happened, but you should get down here and…” I wasn’t sure what.  
“I’m on my way.” He hangs up. I place the phone back on the receiver. I walk to the room, following the sound of Stiles’ weak heartbeat. I’m halfway down the hall when it hits me.  
I can hear his heartbeat. My hand flies to my right arm, even though I know it’s fine. The bite and the break are healed. Shit. I make my way to Stiles room in a daze, I open the door to see Stiles lying in the hospital bed, Melissa checking over him.  
“John is on his way, he’ll probably be here in half an hour.” I find myself saying. Melissa snorts in response.  
“Less than that. He’ll probably break a few speed limits. I suppose you’ll want to wait until he gets here to explain what the hell happened.” I nod. If only I knew what the hell happened. I feel my chest tighten, but I refuse to let the panic swell. I focus on Stile’s breathing, matching the slow, calm breaths. I reassure myself with his heartbeat, which is growing stronger by the minute. Suddenly the door opens and John comes in the room.  
“Oh my god.” He breathes out. I wince as I hear it clear as day. He looks to Melissa, who just shrugs, then to me. He lets the door click closed behind him before asking.  
“What the hell happened. How are you alive. How did he…” John starts.  
“I- I don’t know the whole story. I just… I woke up in the Hale house. I heard the witch cast a spell to rip out Stiles’ heart. He had just cut her hair, so I guess she wanted to get back at him. I managed to put cold iron on the witch, but not before the spell hit. I rushed Stiles here.” John holds up his hands in the time-out sign.  
“Hold up. What witch? Why would she want to kill Stiles for cutting her hair? Was she that vain? And what the hell is cold iron? Why was Stiles there in the first place?” John practically growls the questions out. Unlike usual, my mind races to keep up with the questions.  
“The witch was the Alpha’s sister, the one that attacked us. The one that…” I struggle to get the words out. John’s brows furrow in confusion, before he realizes where the sentence was headed. I decide to finish it anyway. “The one that bit me. Argent killed it. Tamar told us that the alpha had a powerful sister that would want revenge. Mac and Jack must have gone out to confront her. I don’t think they would have taken Stiles with them though.”  
“He said he was going to a pack meeting?!” John practically yells.  
“Shhhh.” Melissa tries to placate him.  
“As for the hair,” I continue. “Well, a witch’s power comes from her hair. By cutting it off, he took away most of her magic abilities. The cold iron restraints would have taken it away completely.”  
“If that’s so, why is my son lying in a hospital bed?!” John hisses at me, and it takes all of my willpower not to flinch.  
“I- I’m not sure. The witch must have found out his name. Names have power, and regardless of hair, using someone’s name in a spell to kill them should’ve worked near instantaneously.” Suddenly it hits me. My face pales as I think about what could’ve happened. “Oh, god. This could’ve been so much worse.”  
“Oh yeah, how? My SON is lying unconscious in a hospital bed.” John snarls.  
“Sherriff, he’s alive. And he’s stable.” Melissa tries.  
“It could’ve been worse it she had heard Stiles’ real name. If Stiles didn’t go by a nickname…” I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence. John sinks into the chair.  
“What about you?” John asks. I frown, trying to figure out what he wants to know. Oh. How am I alive.  
“I’m not sure. The fox fire shouldn’t have stopped until I was dead. I don’t really remember much after the fire started though. It’s all hazy.” I frown trying to remember what I had pieced together right after I woke up. “Stiles was there. He said the banshee, Lydia, told him they needed to get to the Hale house. I saw them sneaking into the house after Mac started the fox fire.” I close my eyes, trying to grasp the memories. “I went in after them. I got them out, but Tamar grabbed me before I could get out. The last thing I remember is hearing a scream. The banshee’s scream. Then I woke up to the whole witch affair.”  
“Could the bite have saved you?” Melissa asks.  
“I doubt it. Being a werewolf didn’t exactly save the Hales, and they were dealing with normal fire, not fox fire.” I shrug. Suddenly, John wraps me up in a giant hug. I stiffen, before relaxing into the embrace.  
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” He mumbles in my ear.  
“I just wish Stiles wasn’t lying in that bed.” I whisper back.  
“At least you’re both alive.”  
“Barely.” Melissa grumbles under her breath.  
“Now that you’re here, I should probably head back to the Hale house to make sure everyone else is okay.” I announce. John gives me a nod, and I walk out.

It only takes me a few minutes to get back to the Hale house. In those few minutes, I realized why the sprint to the hospital had seemed to pass in a blur. Whatever the bite had done to me, I was fast. Despite the handful of miles between the hospital and the Hale house it was a quick journey for me on foot. I skidded to a stop in the clearing. Immediately, Jack and Chris had their weapons trained on me. I put my hands up as they lower their weapons.  
“I promise I’m not a bloodthirsty zombie. Outside of that, I’m not sure.” I try to lighten the mood. “How’s Mac?” As if on cue Mac groans and sits up.  
“Kay?!” He gasps. “What happened?” He frowns.  
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Jack grumbles.  
“Where’s Stiles? Is he alright?” Scott interrupts. I ignore him for a moment, turning to the witch. She has a triumphant gleam in her eye. Anger burns in my gut, but I don't let it show. She hurt Stiles... I keep my face an emotionless mask.  
"Sarah, right?" I ask her. She flinches at the mention of her name, but says nothing. She doesn't need to. "Stiles was my brother."  
"And Sam was mine." She spits. "What are you going to tell me? An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?" She laughs mirthlessly. I shrug.  
"That may be true, but I've been taught how to fight blind." With a flick of my wrist I bury a knife in her throat. Scott roars.  
"What was that for?!" He storms up to me.  
"She hurt Stiles." I reply coolly.  
"But that doesn't..." My words finally catch up to him. "Hurt?"  
“Yeah, I got him to the hospital in time. He’s in a stable condition."  
"Then why'd you..." He motions vaguely to the witch's corpse.  
"Because after what we did to her, she deserved to go thinking she had at least a small victory." I reason. And she hurt Stiles. I mentally shrug. I don't need to say that.  
"You still didn't need to kill her!" Once again, he's got the 'kicked puppy' look on his face. This time I shrug for real.  
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. That doesn't matter. You couldn't have stopped me, so you shouldn't worry about my choices." I turn to the rest of the group, who are watching silently. "I’ll fill you guys in on the way to the hospital?” I suggest. They all nod. 

I fill them in as much as possible on the walk back.  
“So it’s my fault Stiles is hurt?” Scott asks guiltily.  
“No, it’s the witch’s fault. And you’re the reason he’s alive and stable.” Mac replies.  
“He wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I hadn’t said his name!” Scott nearly roars.  
"Yeah, you're right. He wouldn't have gotten hurt. But someone else could've gotten a lot worse than hurt. Witches... They're tough. Even without their hair they can work some nasty magic. By letting her think she won something, she was more willing to lose. In the end, everyone is alive." I tell him.  
"Except for her." Scott says glumly. I sigh, deciding to drop the topic.  
"Your mom," I motion to Scott, "and my dad are with him right now." I inform them. "We should probably..." I trail off as I see Jack grinning widely at me. I raise an eyebrow at him.  
"You just called him dad." Somehow, Jack's grin grows even wider as he says it.  
"So I did." I reply. I decide he's probably a bit too happy for our good. "Shouldn't you update Riley on the situation. It's almost comical how quickly his mood changes. His face pales and his mouth is opened in a silent 'o'.  
"Yeah, I should do that." He says, nodding vigorously. He pulls out his phone and remains outside.  
"I should probably go check on my daughter." Chris says, waving goodbye.  
"Thanks for all the help." Mac says, sincerely. Chris nods in acknowledgment, walking off.  
“Well, let’s go see how Stiles is doing.” I say, walking through the doors.

I sat, lounging in one of the hospital’s chairs. Mrs. McCall took Scott home when her shift was over, arguing that Stiles is fine now and Scott had school the next morning. A couple minutes later Riley had come in. My ribs still ache from the hug she gave me. After a couple of hours, Mac, Jack, and Riley left Dad and me in the hospital room to wait for Stiles to wake up. Now he was snoring softly in the chair next to me. This gave me some much-needed time to think about what the hell just happened.  
How am I alive right now? Just what did that bite turn me into? Why didn’t it turn me into something I know about?! What in the world is going on right now? My train of thoughts are interrupted as my dad shifts in his sleep. My dad. When did he go from ‘John’ to ‘Dad’? As I pondered it, I realized that was the one question I could answer.  
He became ‘Dad’ to me when I thought I wouldn’t get to ever call him that. I find myself staring at Stiles. My brother. A fire seems to burst to life in my chest. Too many emotions at once for me to identify. Pride, guilt, hurt, happiness, contentedness, but most of all; love. I’m surprised to find tears threatening to spill from my eyes.  
“I promise, I will do all that I can to prevent this kind of thing from happening ever again.” I whisper to the sleeping occupants of the room. The warmth seems to spread throughout my body as I listen to the breathing and heartbeat of my family. I reach over, carefully grabbing Stiles’ hand in mine.  
Suddenly the warmth turns into a burning, condensing into a ball of pain right above my heart. My breath catches in my throat at the unexpected change. I try to let go of Stiles’ hand, but my arm seems to be frozen in place. A different warmth seems to travel down my arm, into Stiles. The burning continues to grow, until it feels like someone is stabbing a searing knife into my chest. I try to take in a breath to steady myself, but my lungs refuse to respond. Next to me, I hear Stiles gasp and Dad start awake. All the warmth seems to leave me, except for the burning in my chest. I stagger back a few steps.  
Someone’s saying something, but I can’t concentrate enough to decipher the words that reach my ears. I reach up to clutch at my chest and my fingers come back coated in blood. My legs give out as a new wave of pain courses through my body. I feel the hard floor crash against my knees, or maybe it’s the other way around, I can’t tell. Finally, the pain starts to subside and I manage to take a breath of fresh air. I gulp down the cool air as fast as my lungs will allow.  
“-ear me? Kay? Kay! Nurse!” I’m finally aware enough to hear the frantic yells of my dad.  
“I’m fine.” I croak. “I-I’m fine now.”  
“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!” Stiles yells. I look over to see Stiles sitting up in the hospital bed.  
“Wh- What? You’re awake? What just happened?” I manage to ask once I’ve caught my breath.  
“I don’t know, I just woke up and you were glowing! The room started to heat up and Stiles sat up and then you started bleeding!” Dad practically yells.  
“I- What? I was glowing?” My mind is racing suddenly. The heat, the fire, the burning… Could it be? What are the odds of this? Am I…  
Am I a phoenix?


	22. Chapter 22

“So, what happens now?” Dad asks.  
“There’s the million-dollar question.” I lean back in my chair at the dinner table. “I’m thinking that tomorrow we can go back to the Nemeton. I can see if I can figure out what can be done, and then we’ll play it by ear.”  
“And what if you can’t figure out what to do?” Stiles asks, a small frown on his face. I stare at my hands laying on the table.  
“Well… We’re going to go home. If we can’t get a good read on what to do, then we’ve done all that we can do here. We’ll do what we can to help get information about it, and if we can help we will. There’s no point in us staying otherwise.” I Mac says gently.   
“But-“ Stiles starts. Dad actually manages to cut him off though.  
“It’s understandable. You guys have jobs to do after all.” He forces a smile.   
“But, hey. Who knows what will happen when we go to see that stupid tree.” I answer.   
“But you’ll still need to leave.” Stiles says simply. I give a sigh.   
“Well, technically I died on the field, so…” I trail off. His face lights up.   
“Wait, what?!” Jack stands up, knocking his chair over.   
“Kay…” Mac’s voice trails off.  
“Hold up. You’re just going to stay here?” Riley asks, eyebrows furrowed.  
“Look, regardless of whether I know how to or not, I’m the best chance there is to fix the Nemeton. That thing, if it doesn’t get fixed and soon, well… that could mean disastrous things for the supernatural world.” I look to Stiles and Dad. “And… Maybe I want to expand my family a bit more.”  
“So, what? We’re just going to lie to Matty?” Riley asks.  
“Well, technically you won’t be lying…” Stiles grins.  
“After all, I did die. You can just, you know, forget to tell Matty that I got turned into a phoenix and came back from the dead.” I reason.   
“What about Bozer?” She frowns. Mac and Jack shoots me an inquisitive look, clearly curious about my answer.  
“Well…” I start out hesitantly. “Perhaps it would be better for him not to know.”  
“What?” Mac’s glaring at me now.  
“Look, I’m just saying that he’s not the best liar.” I decide that it’s probably better to not to tell them that Bozer probably could use a reminder that this job isn’t all successes. Sometimes things go wrong.   
“But-“  
“Look, I can’t exactly make you do any of this, but that’s my just suggestion.” I shrug.   
“No kidding! You can’t just-“ Jack growls. I cut him off.  
“What die? Great to know. Look, I don’t care. Tell Matty, don’t, I don’t care. The Nemeton needs to be taken care of, and I want a chance to get to know this family. Look, with the life I’ve already lived, I know I’ll never get a normal life. But, I can get as close as I dare, right? Tell them I died. Tell them I just stayed. Tell them I went AWOL. I don’t care.” I look each of them in the eye. “Beacon Hills, and more importantly, the Nemeton deserves to be healed.” They’re all silent. “And, maybe… Maybe I do too.” I whisper.   
“Fine.” Mac finally says. “We’ll figure something out.” He sighs.  
“Now hold up a minute. We’re just going to let her do this?” Jack hisses.   
“Jack, come on. She does deserve time to get to know her blood family. Especially after everything she’s been through. Right?” Riley butts in. His shoulders sag as he gives a sigh.  
“Yes, she does.” He finally gives in.   
“Thank you.” I nod.   
“Um…” Stiles clears his throat. “Well, we should probably hit the hay so we can get an early start tomorrow. You know… To check out the tree.”   
“You guys can stay here if you don’t mind staying in the living room again. If not, there’s a motel pretty nearby.” Dad suggests.   
“I’ll stay here.” I say immediately. I can’t say I don’t feel a bit guilty for just leaving the team, but I need this. I need to get to know this family. Mac nods at me.  
“We’ll stay at the motel. Meet here at 7:30 tomorrow morning?” He suggests.   
“Sounds great.” I offer a smile. He nods back. 

“So we’re going to play this game again?” I smile as I hear Stiles creeping down the stairs.  
“If you don’t mind.” He says sheepishly.  
“Don’t worry, I don’t.” I grin at him. He plops down on the couch next to me.   
“I’m sorry.”  
“About what?” I huff.  
“That you, well, you know…” He rubs the back of his head. “That you got bit. That you’re supernatural now. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you didn’t want it.” I shrug.  
“You didn’t bite me. It’s not your fault, you have nothing to be sorry about.”   
“But-“  
“Dude, it really doesn’t matter. What happened happened, and there’s nothing that can be done about it.” I reassure him. He chuckles.  
“You know, Scott totally went crazy trying to reverse the bite when Peter bit him.”  
“Most people do. I figure the best way to deal with it is accept it and move on. Besides, at least I don’t have to worry about full moons.”   
“You don’t?!” His eyes widen. “How do you know that? That is so cool!!” I duck as his flailing nearly smacks me in the face.   
“Same way I know that I’m a phoenix. I just… know.” I shrug. “Also, I have an idea that I want to bounce off of you.”  
“That is what I’m best at. Shoot.” His grin practically lights up the room.  
“Right. So, both Peter and Derek seemed to know that there was something… odd after I got bit, right.” He nods as he thinks about it. “I think the reason the bite turned me into a phoenix, or at least part of the reason, is that I was bitten during the day. Like, I was thinking about it, and I’ve never heard of anyone ever being bitten during the day. Right?” He’s silent as he processes the information I put on the table.   
“I think you’re right that it was part of the reason. I remember, back when we were dealing with the kanima, we were told that sometimes those who are bitten don’t turn into a werewolf. They turn into a reflection of who they really are inside.” I snort.  
“Well, I’m hardly ‘pure’. I’ve-“ My voice catches in my throat. “I’ve done some pretty terrible things, Stiles. Things I’ll never, ever be able to make right.”  
“Well, I was more thinking about what you told Dad and me before. Whenever you went through horrible things, you didn’t let it break you. You let those things make you stronger. That sounds a lot like what phoenixes do. Any time they get killed they just come back, stronger than ever.” He grins at me. “Besides, you may have made mistakes. You may not be true alpha material. You may have done horrible things. But you are pure. In your own way. Because you are trying to make it up for them. Your intentions are pure.” I feel a different warmth in my heart.   
“They’re lucky to have you.” I say, smiling.  
“What?” He asks, brows furrowing in confusion.   
“The pack. They’re lucky to have someone as smart, and more importantly, wise as you. I have a feeling that they take you for granted. Someone should really knock some sense into them.” I shoot him a grin.   
“Is that an offer?” He grins back. I just wink. “Dude, your eyes are blue.”   
I clench my teeth. Wonderful. I spend years training to keep my emotions from showing, and now you can tell from a single glance at my eyes.  
“Aaaaand now they’re green. What does that mean?” He asks cautiously.   
“Like I’m going to tell you.” I grin. “I prefer people to not be able to tell how I feel.”   
“Ooooh, that sounds like a challenge.”   
“Oh please, I’m not dumb. I know any challenge to you will result in a humiliation to me.”  
“I see brains run in the family.” Stiles chuckles.   
“It would seem so.” I smile.  
“Let’s get back to our question game! I wanna get to know my long-lost twin sister! You first though.” Once again, I find myself ducking flailing arms.  
“Alright.” I think a moment before asking a question. “Sum up your relationship with Scott without any familial terms.”   
“Dude, easy. Batman and Robin. Though I wish he’d give me a chance to be Batman. I don’t want to be Robin all the time.” He responds immediately.  
“But Robin’s awesome! Why wouldn’t you want to be him?!” I swat at him playfully, before adding, “I’m assuming we’re talking about Dick Greyson. After all, he’s the best Robin. Ever.” Stiles stares at me with wide eyes and an open mouth.   
“True, true. But then, you know, sometimes I wanna be the hero, not the sidekick.” He grumbles, looking down.   
“Well if you don’t want to be Robin, be Nightwing.” He stares at me, stunned.   
“God, we really were separated at birth, weren’t we?” He gapes. I grin at him.  
“Hell yeah.”


	23. Chapter 23

Once again I’m watching the sunrise through the window. This time it seems different. It always seemed to mean that things will always get better, but today it really seems to be a start to a new chapter of life. I take a deep breath.  
“HOW?” Stiles groans behind me. “How do you get up at dawn? Every. Day!”   
“Go back to sleep then.” I say, smiling.   
“Like that’s going to happen now.” He says, getting the kinks out of his neck.  
“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow.  
“Yeah. Just thinking that we might be able to fix that Nemeton, to fix all the stuff that’s been going on lately…” He smiles at the thought.   
“Well, even if we manage to purify the Nemeton, it’s still a Nemeton. Beacons Hills will still be a beacon to supernatural things. It’s just that not all of them will be inherently evil.” I reply easily.  
“Seriously?” He groans again.  
“Yup. Just another reason for me to stay. You know… If you guys want me to.”   
“Of course we want you to.” Dad says, coming down the stairs.”  
“Well, as reassuring as that is,” I shoot them a small smile, “but can the same be said for the pack?”  
“Of course Scott would agree to that! You’re my sister!” Stiles pretty much yells in my face. I raise an eyebrow. “Dude, he’s practically my brother. Which make you practically his sister!”   
“I don’t think it works that way.” I raise an eyebrow at Stiles.   
“Regardless of Stiles’ questionable logic, at this point Scott would welcome any help regarding getting the supernatural problems in Beacon Hills under control.” Dad answers with a small smile.   
“You guys certainly could use someone who can actually fight.” I nod exaggeratedly in thought.  
“Don’t let Derek hear you say that.” Dad’s smile grows.  
“Oh please, I managed to beat him and his uncle when they cornered me. And I took them out non-lethally while they were trying to rip my throat out.” I smirk.  
“They did what?!” Dad’s growl would give a werewolf a run for their money.  
“Uh…” I rub the back of my neck. “You know…” I sigh. “After my dinner with you guys we had a little, uh… confrontation.”   
“I will kill those two.” Dad glares in the vague direction of the Hales’ current home.  
“What the hell were they thinking?!” Stiles scowls.  
“Oh, you know… Probably that a highly proficient supernatural assassin had just waltzed, unannounced, into their town straight to, in their opinion, the most vulnerable members of their pack.” I reason.  
“Most vulnerable?” Stiles scoffs.  
“Well, son, she’s got a point…” Dad sighs.  
“But most vulnerable! How could you say that about us?!” He grumbles.  
“Well, I’m not saying that you’re the most vulnerable of the pack. I’m just saying that, from their point of view, you are. You two aren’t any sort of creature, nor are you hunters. I’m not saying I agree. I’m sure that the Sheriff and the Sheriff’s son are more than capable of defending themselves. They’re just… old fashioned that way.” I shrug.  
“And what do you mean by that, Dad?” Stiles raises an eyebrow.  
“Well, we’re not exactly well-equipped to take on any supernatural threats. The most defenses we have are mountain ash floorboards.”  
“And a bit of a spark to get it all going.” I raise an eyebrow. Stiles’ eyes widen in alarm.  
“How do you…”  
“Not many people can survive running with wolves, Stiles.”   
“What the hell are you two talking about?!” Stiles and I share a look at Dad’s frustrated growl.  
“It’s complicated.” We say in unison. 

Mac, Jack, and Riley all come at precisely 7:30.   
“Y’all ready to remove a tree trunk?” Jack smiles. I can see the tension in his expression. Clearly the debate continued last night without me.  
“Jack, we can’t just remove-“ Mac starts, rolling his eyes.  
“Yeah, yeah… I got it dude, just, let’s get this over with.” I sigh, rubbing my face with my hands. Wonderful. I expected them to be upset, but I didn’t think Jack would be pissed. I’m not looking forward to talking with him.  
“Alright!” Stiles says with a clap. “Let’s go to the site of many, many, many dark sacrifices.” His eyes are lit with a bit of an insane amusement.  
“Wonderful.” I raise an eyebrow at his near manic grin. “At least I’m not the only insane one in this family.” I shake my head as I walk out of the house towards the preserve, everyone else tailing me. It’s not long before we’re nearing the clearing of the Nemeton. This time I’m aware of… something. There’s an atmosphere that I wasn’t aware of before. Yes, the first time that we came here there was a dark, tense energy in the air, but this time… It’s less threatening and more… more sad. If I listen I can almost hear the whispers of trees mourning the corruption of the Nemeton.   
“You good Kay? You look a bit… I dunno. Upset.” Jack asks, words clipped.   
“I’m good. I think.” I say, taking a breath and steeling myself. We’re at the edge of the clearing by now, and the feeling has only grown. I hesitate at the tree line, watching the others walk into the clearing. Mac raises an eyebrow at me. Why do I feel so apprehensive about this? I shake my head, and take a step into the clearing. A wave of emotions washes over me. Sadness, guilt, pain, love. I gasp as images float through my mind.   
I see the three guardians tied up at the roots of the Nemeton, ready to be sacrificed by the Darach. I feel their fear of what’s coming, of leaving their children in this crazy world, yet a flicker of faith in those same children that overwhelms the fear.  
I watch the Hale house burn as Kate’s fire kills the innocent lives that reside there. The family of werewolves that have resided in, and guarded over, this land since ancient times. Their fear and pain and sorrow are overwhelming, even from a distance. A sick flash of pleasure from Kate cuts through the smoke and burning.   
I watch as a young Derek, tears pouring from his eyes, sacrifices his friend, no, lover as she’s dying from a bite that didn’t take. The guilt and heartbreak coming from him is nearly tangible, but there is a serenity coming from the young girl in his arms.   
I watch as the prisoners of an internment camp rebel, and in turn, get massacred. I watch as a young woman, Mrs. Yukimura something tells me, is carted away with the corpses. I watch a woman who can only be Mac’s mother save her, before being cut down by Mrs. Yukimura’s blade. The anger flowing off of her is a fierce power as unstoppable as a Nogitsune would be. Even from far away, though, I can feel the love in Mrs. MacGyver’s heart for her family, the sorrow she has for leaving them all too soon.   
The memories go on farther and farther into the past.   
I watch as dryads tap into the Nemeton’s ley lines to create such a strong, resilient forest around it.   
I see druids gathering around it, practically worshipping it as they chant, placing spells of protection and fortune over its lands.   
I see the Hales come to the land, swearing to protect it as long as their blood resides here.   
I watch the centuries turn into millennia. The images keep going back in time until I realize:  
This isn’t a Nemeton. It’s the Nemeton. It’s the original tree from which druids and witches carefully cut saplings to place throughout the world. It is the center of the ley lines of the entire earth. It takes me too long to realize that those images were the Nemeton’s language. Its way of communicating to me what it’s been through.   
The images recede from my mind and I find myself on my knees, fists clutching at the dirt and tears forming in my eyes. Everyone rushes towards me.   
“Kay are you alright?”   
“What’s happening?”   
“Are you okay?”  
“Kay!”  
“What the hell is going on?!”  
I could probably identify who said what, but my mind is reeling from what I was just shown, the ramifications of what’s happened here.   
“What-“ The words catch in my throat as everyone becomes silent. “What was that?” I manage to gasp. “How long…” My voice trails off.   
“Krystie, you just stepped into the clearing and collapsed.” Stiles kneels in front of me carefully. I feel the Nemeton’s presence at the edges of my mind. It seems to have realized that forcing all that information all at once was too much, and is almost asking my permission before proceeding with more. Somehow, I know it’s just one more image it needs to show me. I let it in, and watch as Gerard Argent, in an act of war against the wolves, cuts the tree down with magic darker than anything else that’s been done here.  
“Kay, what just happened?” Mac asks softly. He barely breathes out the question, but, of course, I hear it clear as day.  
“The Nemeton. It, well, it didn’t really speak to me so much as give me a not-so-brief history of everything that has happened in the past couple millennia here. You know, since before humans walked the Earth and magic reigned supreme and all that jazz.” I look at him and do a double take at just how much he resembles his mother. I feel tears spilling down my eyes at that thought.   
“So, uh, do you know what to do now to fix the tree?” Riley asks carefully. I look around to see five expectant gazes. I close my eyes and extend my senses, searching for anything that could give me a hint as to what to do.  
I get what is essentially a giant shrug from the whole forest. I shake my head.   
“Phoenixes can typically fix this type of problem easily.” Those words come naturally, and I know it’s true the moment I say them. “Nemeton’s that have been corrupted shouldn’t be complicated, even for a phoenix a couple days old.”  
“I sense a major ‘but’ coming here.” Jack grumbles under his breath. I nod.  
“But, this-“ Now I’m struggling to explain just what kind of trouble we’re in. “I- I don’t… I don’t think I can even explain just how bad this is.”   
“That is not quite the answer that I was hoping we’d get.” Stiles sighs.   
“You have no idea.” At the edge of my mind I feel the Nemeton agreeing with me. 

“So, what now?” Stile’s question hangs in the air.   
“I’m really starting to hate that question.” I groan.  
“No kidding.” Mac replies. I rub my temples.   
“I have no clue what we’re supposed to do now. But I know that we have to fix this. The Nemeton… It’s so much worse than we thought it would be. It’s not just the sacrifices that the Darach made, not even that first sacrifice that Derek made.” I start pacing the living room floor. “Gerard Argent…”   
“Wonderful! When will that creep not be involved in something that’s making life hell for us.” Stiles grumbles.  
“He, well, I’m not quite sure he did, but he used some serious magic to cut the Nemeton down. I’ll need to talk to Argent to see if he has any inkling what it was, but I doubt it’ll help much. Maybe even Mrs. Yukimura. If she was here before the Nemeton, she might have some information that could help.”  
“Wait.” Mac holds up a hand to stop me. “How do you know that?” Mac raises an eyebrow. Jack glances at Mac with confused concern.  
“Um. The, uh, the internment camp was here. Close enough that the Nemeton saw-“ I hesitate, fighting the urge to glance at Jack. “I saw everything.” I mumble. He huffs.   
“Mac, what’s she talking about?” Jack asks slowly. I give a reassuring nod to Mac.   
“Mrs. Yukimura was in an internment camp.” He starts slowly. Carefully.  
“Yeah, I gathered as much, brotha! Why do you know that?!”   
“Well… So was my mom.” The room’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Without super hearing, even. “There was an accident, and the Japanese, uh, ‘residents’ were slaughtered. Mrs. Yukimura was going to call a nogitsune, long story,” He says, cutting off any questions, “to the earth. My mom stopped her. In return, well… we may have accelerated healing, but foxes can’t survive being beheaded.” I keep a careful eye on Jack, watching his jaw clench, eyes flash with anger. I step between him and the door as he turns to leave.   
“Jack, even if you could manage to kill her, which, let’s be honest, you probably can’t, what good would that do?” I look him in the eye as I tell him this. “There’s still the off chance that Mrs. Yukimura has some information we could use to fix the Nemeton. Not to mention she has a daughter. Yes, I completely agree that Mrs. Yukimura deserves whatever you’re planning in your head, but does her family? They’ve done nothing wrong.”   
“How can you-“ Jack starts, finger jabbing at me.  
“Jack, she’s right. I don’t want to be the reason another kid loses a parent, Jack.”   
“But-“  
“Jack!” Mac grabs Jack, forcing Jack to look him in the eyes.   
“Fine.” Jack relents, shoulders slumping. He sets himself back down on the couch.   
“Well, this is just peachy.” Riley sighs.


	24. Chapter 24

“Sorry to bother you once again.” I say as Chris opens the door.  
“Well, at least you’re not trying to kill me.” He says. “You’re not trying to kill me, right?” He raises an eyebrow.  
“Not yet.” I shrug.   
“Right. Fair enough.” He nods, stepping back to let me in the apartment.   
“I’m going to assume you don’t know the answer, but I’m just going to come out and say it: Do you know what spell Gerard used to cut the Nemeton down?” I watch as shock and confusion flickered over her face before giving way to a sort of resignation.   
“Why am I not surprised that he was behind that, too?” He sighed after a moment of silence. “Unfortunately, I don’t know. I can try to ask though.”   
“Need any help?” I offer. He raises an eyebrow. I shrug at his look. “I was a better lie detector than a wolf when I was human, imagine what I can do now? And, I’ve heard that your father is quite the liar.”  
“Fine.” He says curtly.

I decided to go as the Silver Wolf. My bone white armor contrasted with my simple black tee and jeans. I held my mask in my hands as Chris drove us to where his father was staying at the moment. The painted wolf face snarled at me as I considered how to go about this.   
“I take it you’re not going to play along if I say ‘leave all the talking to me,’ are you?” Chris says, breaking the monotonous noise of the car.  
“Wow, how’d you guess?” I deadpan.   
“Right, but just, be aware…” Chris’ voice trails off. I raise my eyebrow at him.   
“Yeah?”   
“All the stories you’ve probably heard about him?” I nod silently at his words. “They’re true.”   
“Yeah, sorta figured you’d say that. I was hoping you weren’t, but I expected it.” I say, slipping the mask on.   
“You’re quite the peculiar kid, aren’t you?” He asks, eyes on locked on the road.  
“Well, most people would argue that I’m not a kid.” I reply simply.  
“Is that so?”

Gerard is sitting in a chair in a simple room. I let Chris walk through the door before slipping in silently after him. I know Gerard knows I’m there, but I stick to the uncertain lighting around the edges of the room.   
“What did you do to the Nemeton?” Chris practically growls.  
“Come now, is that any way to talk to your father?” Gerard smirks.  
“It is when that father is you.” I say.   
“And who are you?” Gerard raises an eyebrow at me.   
“Who do you think?” I step into the light. Gerard gives a chuckle.  
“The Silver Wolf. It’s an honor to finally meet you.” I can feel an aura of sickness emanating from him. Both from his nature and his condition.  
“Well, if it’s an honor, I would like to know just what you did to that Nemeton.” I keep my voice neutral.  
“Now, why would someone like the Silver Wolf care what I did to a Nemeton?”   
“I need to destroy a Nemeton. I heard you’d done it, so I figured I’d forgo the research and come see you.”   
“And my son is helping you?”   
“Nah, I told him that I wanted to help fix the Nemeton in Beacon Hills. I just needed to get to you.” I shrug as Chris stiffens behind me. Gerard chuckles.  
“I’ll give you this: you’re a good liar. Your heart and breathing stayed steady throughout. However, I know that you killed the Goblin King. You wouldn’t do something this big on your own.” I give an impartial sigh.  
“Look, I don’t care if you believe me, but I just wanna know how you did it” Gerard laughs, delving into a coughing fit.   
“Nice try, kiddo. Either way, why should I tell you how I did it?”   
“Eh, fine. Be that way. I came here on the off chance you would save me some time. If you aren’t, I’ll be off.” I turn to the door.   
“Wait, kiddo.” I pause at his words, hand hovering over the handle.   
“Hmm?” I hum disinterestedly.  
“You’re good, I’ll give you that. Out of… mutual respect I’ll tell you what I did.” I turn back to face the old man. “Don’t think for a second that I believe anything you’ve told me, but I can’t tell that you lied.”  
“Well, thanks I suppose.” I shrug, studying his features carefully.  
“I used a special poison. I got it from a witch out in Arizona. I can-“ I note the tells and micro-expressions as he lies, but I don’t need them right now.  
“Come on, I respect that, due to the age gap, you can totally call me kiddo. But I’m going with the ‘I may be young but I ain’t stupid’ stance.” I tell him, letting annoyance bleed into my voice. Once again, he chuckles, escalating into a coughing fit.   
“I apologize. But, surely you can understand that many people would try to, ah, imitate you to get important information.”   
“I accept your reasoning. But do not lie to me again.” I tell him quietly.  
“Of course. I asked a witch to perform a complex mirroring spell on it.” I catch the smallest twitch of the corner of his mouth.  
“Very well, if you insist on insulting my intelligence, I’m going to take my leave.” I walk out the door. Chris follows me.   
“Why-“  
“He wasn’t going to tell us anything but lies. Spending any more time would’ve been a waste of time.” I cut Chris’ question off.  
“So, what now?” He asks with a resigned sigh.  
“Well, I’ve got a couple other things on my list before I’ve got to go back to square one.”  
“And they are?”   
“Well, I wanted to ask Mrs. Yukimura if she knew anything without Mac with me. Then maybe I’ll go see the Hales.”  
“Wouldn’t they have already told us anything they know about the Nemeton though? It is in their best interest that the Nemeton gets healed.”  
“Well, the Nemeton seemed to take special care to show me Mrs. Yukimura when she almost unleashed the Nogitsune and the Hales when they swore to protect the land. Whether they realize it or not, they must have some information that can help.”  
“I’m sorry, what?” Chris’ eyebrows raise in surprise.   
“Ah. Yeah. I went to the Nemeton to see if I could figure out how to fix it now that I’m a phoenix. Don’t ask, I still don’t know the answer to that.” I cut Chris off as he takes a breath to ask a question. “The Nemeton showed me the history surrounding it and Beacon Hills. The main things it put emphasis on was: when you, Dad, and Mrs. McCall got captured by the Darach; Mrs. Yukimura in the internment camp, and the Hales.”  
“Sure. Why not.”

I knock carefully on the door. The door swings open to reveal Kira.  
“You’re, uh, not at school.” I find myself saying.  
“I’m sick.” She replies uncomfortably, followed by a pathetically fake cough.  
“I’m here to talk to your mom.”   
“MOM!” She calls, stepping away from the door.  
“You again.” Mrs. Yukimura scowls as she comes to the door.   
“I’m here for answers. Nothing else.” I give a shrug. She eyes me carefully.  
“You’re different this time.”   
“I got bit. Then burnt. Then I came back.” I reply easily. Her eyes widen almost comically  
“You became a phoenix?” Her voice is carefully emotionless.   
“It would seem so.” I reply in a similar tone. Mrs. Yukimura steps back from the door, allowing me, once again, into their living room. “I was hoping you could tell me more about the Nemeton, before it was cut down.”   
“There isn’t much to say. It was, and still is, an amazingly powerful and important magical landmark. When it was cut down and corrupted it tainted the land it once helped flourish." Her voice is dripping with disdain. I pause for a moment, wondering if I should address that or not. I give a mental shrug and just ignore it for now. It’ll go away eventually. Hopefully.  
“Well then, do you know anything about how it was cut down?” I find myself asking.  
“No.” She answers simply.  
“Wonderful.” I reply with equal simplicity.   
“Why do you ask? It’s not like you would be able to do something about it.” Mrs. Yamanaka practically scoffs.  
“Wouldn’t I?” I raise an eyebrow at her. She frowns in thought at my comment. She studies me for a moment before her eyebrows shoot up in shock.   
“You… You aren’t the same as the first time you came.”   
“Mmhmm.” I nod.  
“A phoenix? But… But that shouldn’t be possible!” She scowls at the floor in thought.  
“Gerard Argent cut the Nemeton down. Somehow, he managed to corrupt it much more than any of the dark sacrifices should’ve.”  
“And that’s why none of the usual methods of cleansing didn’t work.” She continues. “Do you know what he did?”  
“Unfortunately, when I went to go, er… ask him I found that his information wasn’t exactly reliable.”  
“Typical Argent.” She growls. I decide not to mention the two, very willing and helpful Argents that live in town.  
“Now that we know that it was more than just sacrifices, I can ask some old friends if they’ve heard of anything like this before. Who knows what that might bring up.” She continues thoughtfully. I bite back a growl at the lack of information.  
“That would certainly be helpful.” I nod carefully. “What about phoenixes? What do you know about phoenixes?”   
“Now that, I can answer a bit more thoroughly. Phoenixes are creatures of light, and day. They are healers and protectors. Much like kitsune, they grow stronger with age, but unlike kitsune they don’t peak. Where Kitsune can only get up to nine tails, Phoenixes are always growing stronger. From what I have heard, phoenixes grow more powerful every time they are killed and reborn.”   
“Huh… Interesting.” I pause a moment. “Do you know how to kill one?”


	25. Chapter 25

She looks at me with shock and concern before I realize just how the question sounded.  
“Nononono. Not like that I just want to know what to avoid in order to prolong my life. I’m all for living a nice, long life.” I shake my head vigorously. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I want to know what can kill a phoenix so I can avoid it like the plague.”  
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but there are theories.” She starts off carefully. “Cold iron is one,” I nod, silently crossing that off the list. Nothing had happened when I touched the cold iron. Then I mentally shook my head and put it back on. Just because I touched it doesn’t mean it can’t kill me if I were stabbed with, say, a cold iron knife.  
“Another legend says that using an arrow fletched with the feathers of a phoenix can kill a phoenix…” Hmmm… Does that mean that I can shift into something with feathers? Like, can I fully shift into a bird, or is there a beta-shift sort of thing that makes me sprout feathers rather than fur?  
“Then there are rumors about holy water, but I’ve personally found those unconvincing. Holy water is used for the undead and corrupt, phoenixes are essentially the opposite of that.” I nod, her reasoning is pretty solid. She starts to settle back, as if she’s exhausted her phoenix-death-lore, but apparently, she remembers something last minute.  
“Another theory is that, similar to the feather, a weapon fashioned from the bone of a phoenix can kill you.” I nod as she clearly concludes her list. Of all her thoughts, the feather and bone seem the most plausible. Of course, there could be other things that she hasn’t mentioned because she simply didn’t know about them.  
“Thank you, for you time and all the information.” I say, bowing to the kitsune. I get up to leave. I’m stopped with a hand on my shoulder as I get to the door.  
“There’s one more thing you should know. Phoenixes, along with rebirth and healing, are also known for being guardians.” With that tidbit, she releases me and opens the door, ushering me out. As I’m walking away from the Yukimura household, I take a moment to digest what she just told me.  
Clearly, she meant something a bit more than just letting me know phoenixes are guardians. But was it a warning? But for what? I think back to the past couple of days since I was turned. Between discovering that I’m a phoenix, discovering that the Nemeton is The Nemeton, and… I pause mid-step as it occurs to me. I said I’d stay here in Beacon Hills. Why would I do that? I’ve never let my emotions get in the way of a mission, why would I now? Because I’m a phoenix, that’s why. I bite back a growl. One bite, and suddenly I’m an emotional mess. I need to get a grip on my emotions.  
I start walking, this time with a certain destination in mind.

A guardian.

I find myself in an all too familiar clearing. I run my fingers over the stump, feeling the corruption and decay thrumming through the ley lines.  
“You are why I’m all messed up, aren’t you?” I feel a little silly talking to a tree stump. Suddenly I feel… well, not quite guilt, but more like an excuse. I realize that that feeling’s coming from the Nemeton.  
“You’ve been in my head since I came back to life, haven’t you?” I frown, clamping down on the anger that burst into a flame in my gut. “You’ve been controlling me, manipulating my emotions.” My breath catches in my throat as fear quenches the fire. Unbidden, memories flit before my eyes. Unlike last time, I know these memories.  
I’m kneeling in front of an ornate throne, being assigned to a team of trainees by the Goblin King.  
I’m curled into a ball in my cot, pain lancing through my body from my first ‘disciplining session’.  
I’m staring at my hands, covered in blood. My first kill. My hands are shaking. Later that night, the lady’s face haunts my dreams. Soon she’d just become another one of the crowd that keeps me awake at night.  
I’m watching in shock as Tamar’s throat is re-sealing itself. His eyes are glowing an unnatural blue. I block a swipe to my face with my arm, his claws sink into my arm.  
I’m waiting to be punished for messing up the mission with Tamar, for making a mess of the mission, even though I have no clue what the hell just happened.  
I’m reassigned to a new squad to deal with the supernatural. We joke that we’re going to be the most dangerous pack in the supernatural world. It was the first, and last, time we’d joke and feel something close to happiness.  
I’m sent on a mission with my pack. It’s just a routine ‘extermination’. It isn’t. I’m the only one to come back.  
I’m locked in a room with alphas, fighting for my life. It doesn’t even matter anymore. Part of me wants to let them win.  
Gradually I become aware of the world around me. The soft, moist soil under my palms. The crisp, clean air rushing through my lungs. The wet tears on my face. The sorrow and guilt racing through me are crippling. There’s anger there too. Anger at the Goblin King for what I went through. And fear, from what he put me through.  
“Get. Out. Of. My. HEAD!” I yell. Like a switch is flipped, suddenly all I feel is the fear. That, I can live with. I always have lived with. I take a deep breath, drying my eyes.  
“I would’ve helped.” I whisper after a while.  
“You didn’t need to control me, you didn’t have to make me.” I growl, my voice picking up in volume.  
“I’m not your toy. Your tool!” I spit. Once again, anger is burning in my gut, but this time I’m pretty sure it’s my own. Unfortunately, I can’t be certain.  
“Kay?” I start at Mac’s voice.  
“What are you doing here?” I keep my voice neutral, but I feel annoyance bubble up at his arrival. I shake my head and ignore it. I can’t know for sure, but surely that isn’t mine.  
“I…” He pauses for a moment. “Mrs. Yukimura said you’d probably be here.” It takes me a moment to understand what he said.  
“You guys…” I’m not sure how to voice my thoughts. ‘Then again, I can’t be sure if they’re mine.’ I think to myself.  
“She apologized,” He says carefully, “And told me that you might need some company out here.”  
Suddenly I’m angry at Mrs. Yukimura. She sent him out here to… To what? To help me. Not the Nemeton. I shake the thoughts from my head.  
“Look, about… Everything. About you staying-“ He starts.  
“Mac…” I meet his eyes, and his brows furrow in concern and confusion. “I- I can’t trust myself right now. This- this thing’s been controlling me!” I motion towards the stupid tree stump that started all of this. “I don’t know what feelings are mine, and which ones are its.” A sob catches in my throat.  
Suddenly Mac’s arms are around me. Wrapped in his solid embrace, I have one clear thought.  
“I can’t stay here.” I whisper. “Not until I understand what I am, and what I can do.” I mumble into his chest.  
“You’ll be leaving your brother.” He says carefully.  
“You’re my brother too, Mac. Besides, it’d be better for us all if I leave Stiles and Dad for now and know that I’m me. That I’m the one controlling what I’m doing and not the Nemeton. Can you…” I don’t know how to ask what I need. Fortunately, I don’t need to.  
“I’ll make sure you stick with that decision Kay.” He says softly. As soon as he lets go, I wonder if I made the right decision. Do I want to give up my family? I shake my head. Mac, Jack, Riley, Bozer, and Matty? They’re my family too. They were my first family. Mac’s hand is on my shoulder, grounding me a bit.  
“Let’s go meet up with everyone for lunch.” He guides me gently away from the Nemeton.

The team, Stiles, Dad, and I are all gathered around a table in the diner. Mac nudges my reassuringly and I take a deep breath.  
“I can’t stay here.” I regret the words as soon as they leave my mouth. Stiles freezes mid-bite, and Dad drops his fork. I can see the shock, and hope, on Jack and Riley’s face.  
“What?! But… I thought… What happened?” Stiles asks. I don’t want to tell him. I shouldn’t have told Mac. I can deal with this myself. I don’t need… I close my eyes and grit my teeth.  
“The Nemeton has been manipulating me. I’m not sure when it started. The Nemeton has been controlling my emotions since I came back to life..” I take a breath, reminding myself that the anxiousness creeping up me isn’t my own. “I can’t stay here until I’ve figured out how to differentiate myself from that tree.”  
“Only in Beacon Hills.” Dad grumbles, rubbing his face with his hand.  
“You’ll be back, though, right? And you’ll keep in touch?” Stiles asks.  
“Of course.” I give him a smile, stomping down on the anger building up in me. They’re trying to force me out of Beacon Hills. I have to stay.  
I give a small sigh. The Nemeton has clearly given up on being subtle.  
“Why would it manipulate you like this?” Jack says cautiously.  
“I- I can’t be sure. I think it wants a guardian, and Mrs. Yukimura said that phoenixes are also known as guardians. But it could be manipulating me this way because its corrupted. I don’t know. I just hope that getting out of town will help me clear my head.”  
“Wait. Are you saying that it might be able to control you even if you leave?” Riley leans forward.  
“I would hope it can’t, but this Nemeton is connected to every major ley line, I don’t know how far it’s influence reaches.” I reply.  
“Wonderful.” She grumbles.  
“No kidding.” I give her a small smile.  
“When will you be leaving?” Dad asks.  
“As soon as possible, so the Nemeton can’t change her mind.” Mac speaks up. Dad nods thoughtfully.  
“Well, kiddo, you’ve got my number, you’d better use it.” I meet his eyes to see him fighting tears. I blink to realize that I am too.  
“I should give you mine too.” Stiles says, fumbling for his phone.  
“Or Riley could get it for you.” Jack jokes. Stiles’ head whips around to face Riley, phone forgotten.  
“You can do that?” We all laugh at his face.  
“Yeah. It’s actually pretty easy.” Riley grins at him.  
“Teach me?” Stiles gives Riley puppy dog eyes.  
“No.” Dad says simply. “You get into enough trouble as it is.”  
“But then I won’t have to ask Danny for help if I need to-“  
“As the Sheriff I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear my son just say that, and said son is going to shut up now.” Dad cuts Stiles off, rubbing his temples. Suddenly Stiles whips around to me and Mac.  
“How soon is as soon as possible?” He frowns thoughtfully.  
“We’re going to call our boss after lunch.” I tell him.  
“So this is essentially goodbye?” He asks, tears welling up in his eyes. I want to say no. I want to stay. To get to know my blood family.  
“Essentially. I mean, you guys can always see us off at the plane.” Mac nods.  
“So much for ‘blood is thicker than water’, right?” Stiles chuckles jokingly.  
“You know, that’s not the full proverb.” Mac says, face carefully emotionless.  
“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” I fill in.  
“Ah.” Is all Stiles says.  
“But I will be back. I’ve just- I’ve got this feeling that this isn’t actually ‘goodbye’. Just ‘see you next time’.” I look him in the eyes, trying to convince him that I mean it. I try to convince myself I mean it too. I desperately hope that it’s just the Nemeton trying get me to stay. He nods at me.  
“So, what do we do about the Nemeton?” Dad asks. I meet his eyes, then Stiles’.  
“You guard it.” I say simply. “The Hales were the original guardians, your pack should be the ones guarding it now. What that entails, I’m not sure. Ask the Hales about it.” As I mention it, I feel disgusted at the words. 

The call went smoothly. Matty and Bozer were elated to hear that I wasn’t dead. Apparently, Mac filled them in on the supernatural, and Matty’s keeping it under wraps. We’re waiting by the airstrip, where we first arrived only days ago.  
“I guess this is it, kiddo.” Dad wraps me in a hug. I want to melt into the embrace, but if I do, I don’t think I’ll be able to leave.  
“See you next time.” Stile says, looking me in the eyes. “Promise?”  
“I promise. See you next time. I’ll call you guys when I get home? Let you know I had a safe plane trip?” I don’t want to go.  
“You’d better.” Dad says, smiling softly. I myself to take a step back. I hear the plane coming.  
“You ready?” Mac says, putting his hand on my shoulder. I give him a silent nod.  
“You guys are taking this a lot better than I thought you would.” Jack tells Dad and Stiles. “I can only imagine what it feels like to gain and loose this kid in a couple of days.” Jack playfully ruffles my hair. I want to break away. Run into the forest and never leave. I don’t want to go. I try to remind myself that it’s just the Nemeton influencing me.  
The plane lands on the landing strip.  
“I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that I’d rather Kay have free will than have her stay here. And it’s not like we’re losing her completely. We can still stay in contact with her, right?” Dad smiles at me.  
I nod back, not trusting myself to open my mouth. I don’t want to leave Dad and Stiles.  
“I’ll make sure of that.” Riley says with a wink.  
“Alright, let’s get going.” Mac says, motioning to the plane. I take a step towards the plane. Then another one. Suddenly I can’t breathe.  
Idon’twanttogoIdon’twanttogoIdon’twanttogo.  
A wave of pure panic washes over me. My knees buckle, and suddenly I’m face to face with the tarmac. I can only hear the rushing of blood in my ears.  
Idon’twanttogo.  
I close my eyes, trying to hear past the roar in my ears. It feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest. I can’t get enough oxygen. I can’t breathe. It feels like I’m back with the Goblin King, being drowned because I did something wrong. I can’t breathe.  
Idon’twanttogoIdon’twanttogo.  
Finally, a blissful nothingness envelopes me. 

The first thing I’m aware of is a soft blanket. I’m lying down on something cushy. There’s a constant white noise that I don’t bother identifying. Finally, I work up the courage to open my eyes. I’m greeted with a familiar face.  
“R’ley.” I manage to croak. She lets out a sigh of relief.  
“You’re awake.” She smiles. She offers me a water bottle, helping me sit up. It’s only after the first sip that I realize just how much my throat hurts. Only experience keeps me from chugging the whole bottle down. Instead, I keep taking tiny sips.  
“You gave us quite a scare there.” Jack says, sitting down next to Riley.  
“Wh’t-” I croak out.  
“Try not to speak, you did quite a number on your throat.” Jack says.  
“You had a panic attack. We think it was sorta the tree’s last-ditch attempt at making you stay. I nod thoughtfully. It makes sense. What does he mean I did quite a number on my throat? The confusion must’ve shown on my face, or maybe my newfound mood eyes, because Mac clears his throat.  
“You started clawing at your throat, like you were trying to rip it out.”  
“Couldn’t breathe.” I mumble.  
“Just take it easy.” Jack says.  
“M’kay.” I nod. “Guess it’s a good thing I’m not a werewolf, right?” I give them a small grin.  
“You have a horrible sense of humor.” Jack grins back.  
“I know.” I pull the blanket up, and settle down for another nap. My eyes snap open as I realize something. “I’m glad we got out of Beacon Hills.” Three grins light up the plane at my words.  
“Glad to have you back, Kay.” Mac smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next story should be up around next week!


End file.
